LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The King University women's wrestling team was well represented at last week's US Open, with both current wrestlers and alumni placing at the prestigious event, including alumnua Forrest Molinari, who won the championship at 68 kilograms and
Samara Chavez, who placed second at 53 kilograms.
HOW IT HAPPENED – CURRENT WRESTLERS
- Sage Mortimer placed fourth at 50 kilograms, picking up a 12-4 win over Arelys Valles in the round of 16 before defeating Nyla Valencia by injury default to punch a spot in the semifinals.
- After a loss in the semis, Mortimer racked up a 16-6 win in the consolation bracket over Kendra Ryan before dropping the third-place match.
- Samara Chavez made a run into the championship match, starting in the round of 32 where she pinned Angela LoRusson in 40 seconds before a 10-0 win over Estrella Dordo Marin in the quarterfinals.
- In the semifinals she won a high-scoring 18-17 decision over top-seeded Amy Fearnside, setting up a championship bout with Katie Gomez, which she dropped 12-2 to take second.
- Melanie Mendoza also placed at 53 kilograms, taking home a fifth-place finish. She started in the round of 32 by pinning B. Cherry in 1:53 before falling in the round of 16 to third-seeded Kendra Gomez. Mendoza then went 5-1 in the consolation bracket, with four of those five wins coming via pin. In the fifth-place match, she won via forfeit over top-seeded Amy Fearnside.
- Vayle-Rae Baker went 1-2 at 55 kilograms, with the win coming in the round of 16, a 4-3 win over Gabrielle Skidmore.
- At 57 kilograms, Montana DeLawder earned the fifth seed, taking an opening round bye before pinning Carissa Qureshi in 3:55 to advance to the quarters, where she dropped an 8-3 decision to Shelby Moore. She would then move to the consolation bracket, falling to Jasmine Hernandez 4-2.
- Ashlynn Ortega took fourth at 62 kilograms, going 4-2. After earning a first-round bye, she won 11-0 over H Chapman in the round of 16 before falling to Adaugo Nwachukwu in the quarterfinals.
- She earned three straight wins in the consolation bracket, starting with a 10-0 win over Cierra Foster before winning a narrow 3-2 decision over third-seeded Amanda Hendey. After winning 10-0 over fourth-seeded Savannah Cosme, she lost via criteria to Bridgette Duty in the third-place match.
- Ana Luciano took home fifth place at 65 kilograms, going 4-2. She started her tournament with a 11-6 win over Dali Garibay before galling 12-1 to Maya Letona. After that, she won a pair of matches in the consolation bracket, including a pin of Celina Cooke in 1:37 before winning 10-0 over Destiny Lyng.
- After an 8-4 loss to Aine Drury, she won the fifth-place bout over Skylar Hattendork by pin, needing just 3:31 to win the match and take fifth.
- Viktorya Torres also competed at 65 kilograms, taking seventh. She started the tournament with a 12-2 win over Aspen Barber before falling 10-0 in the quarterfinals. She would then go 2-1 in the consolation bracket, including a win via fall over Dalia Garibay and a 2-0 win over Destiny Lyng in the seventh-place match.
- Tiffani Baublitz went 2-2 at 72 kilograms, with her wins being a 10-0 win over Lilliann Marie Restrepo and a win via pin over Bailee Hawks Nelson in 1:49.
HOW IT HAPPENED - ALUMNI
- Aleeah Gould finished fifth at 50 kilograms, earning a first round bye before narrowly falling 7-6 in the round of 16, though she would make a run through the consolation bracket, rattling off four consecutive wins, including a 10-0 win over Esthela Trevino and a 1:55 pin of Jasmine Howard before pinning Natalie Reyna-Rodriguez, earning a spot in the consolation semifinals.
- After dropping her consolation semifinal match, she faced Kendra Ryan in the 5th-place match, a match that she won 10-4.
- At 62 kilograms, Amanda Hendey took eighth, going 2-3, including a 40-second pin of Danielle Rond in the round of 16. After falling in the round of eight, she picked up a 10-2 win over Yele Aycock before falling to Ashlynn Ortega 3-2, putting her in the seventh-place match, which she dropped 6-4 to Claire DiCugno.
- Forrest Molinari won the title at 68 kilograms, going undefeated, with two wins via fall and two via technical superiority. She opened with a 34-second pin ov Savannah Pitts before beating Love Daley 12-0 in the quarterfinals.
- After a 14-4 win over Katerina Lange in the semifinals, she pinned Alexandria Glaude in 4:21 to win the championship. She will now advance to Final X, on June 10 in Newark, N.J., where she will face off with the winner of the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament.
