LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The King University women's wrestling team etched their name into the history books on Friday afternoon, as they earned wins over three top-10 teams to clinch the NWCA National Dual championship. The Tornado toppled second-ranked McKendree University 25-19 in the final and fourth-ranked North Central College 35-10 in the semifinals. King closed pool competition with a 31-12 vicory over sixth-ranked Augsburg University earlier in the day.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORES: #1 King 31, #6 Augsburg 12; #1 King 35, #4 North Central 10; #1 King 25, #2 McKendree 19
LOCATION: Kentucky International Expo Center; Louisville, Ky.
TEAM RESULT: 1st of 10
HOW IT HAPPENED - #6 AUGSBURG
- Second-ranked Jaclyn McNichols picked up a win via forfeit to start the dual before the Auggies earned a win at 109 pounds to tie the score at five.
- After another Augsburg forfeit, second-ranked Cheyenne Sisenstein picked up a pin of Charlotte Kouyomutijan in 1:08 to extend the lead to 15-5.
- Fourth-ranked Phoenix Dubose earned a 10-0 technical fall at 130 pounds over Savannah Vold to make it a 19-5 Tornado lead before Augsburg picked up a win at 136.
- In a matchup of the top two individuals at 143 pounds, second-ranked Ashlynn Ortega took a 4-2 victory over top-ranked Katie Lange.
- Third-ranked Chey Bowman and Nia Crosdale capped the 31-12 Tornado victory with a pair of victories.
- Bowman pinned Madison Horn in 17 seconds at 170 pounds and fifth-ranked Crosdale topped Melissa Jacobs 9-0 at 191 pounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED - #4 NORTH CENTRAL
- Against fourth-ranked North Central, the Tornado dominated the semifinal, winning nine of the 10 matches, six of which resulted in bonus points.
- McNichols started things off on the right foot, winning a 10-0 tech fall at 101 pounds.
- After fifth-ranked Samara Chavez took a 10-8 decision over fourth-ranked Sydney Petzinger at 109 pounds, second-ranked Sage Mortimer earned a 14-3 technical fall win over eighth-ranked Maeah Roehl to make it a 11-2 lead for King.
- Sisenstein came up with a 9-4 decision over fifth-ranked Amani Jones at 123 pounds before a pair of Tornado falls at 130 and 136 pounds.
- Third-ranked Montana DeLawder pinned third-ranked Asia Nguyen-Smith n 4:10 and top-ranked Ana Luciano pinned third-ranked Sara Sulejmani in 2:53.
- Bowman came up with a 9-6 win over top-ranked Yelena Makoyed at 170 pounds before Crosdale capped the 35-10 win with an 11-0 technical fall over Alondra Aguayo.
HOW IT HAPPENED - #2 MCKENDREE
- The championship match was a battle between the top two ranked teams as the Tornado took on two-time defending champion McKendree.
- McNichols and fifth-ranked Samara Chavez got things off to a hot start. McNichols earned a 3-3 victory on criteria at 101 pounds over Lizette Rodriguez Chavez gave the Tornado an 8-1 lead by pinning second-ranked Paulina Granados at 109 pounds.
- The Bearcats picked up a win at 116 pounds, but Sisenstein would earned a pin in 2:02 over Caitlyn Thorne at 123 pounds before DeLawder would earned a 7-4 decision over top-ranked Cameron Guerin to extend the lead to 16-6.
- Luciano then defeated third-ranked Skye Realin 7-4 at 136 pounds before a McKendree victory.
- King then clinched the championship with back-to-back decisions at 155 and 170 pounds.
- Ortega defeated second ranked Kayla Marano 5-1 before Bowman topped fourth-ranked Joye Levendusky 5-2.
- The Bearcats won the final bout, but King took the championship 25-19.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The championship is the first NWCA Dual championship for the Tornado since 2017 and their fifth all-time.
- King won four straight titles from 2014-17, all as the No. 1 seed. King was the top seed again this season.
- The five national titles tie Oklahoma City University for the most NWCA National Dual championship among women's wrestling teams.
- The Tornado are also the first NCAA school to win five titles.
- McKendree had won the last two NWCA National Dual championships.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will make their Student Center Complex debut on Jan. 12 when they face Lincoln Memorial University at 7:00 p.m.Â
