Women's Wrestling Opens Season at Friends Open

Women's Wrestling opened the season on Friday in Wichita, Kansas, at the Friends Open. The Tigers posted 36 individual wins with three Top 4 placements. All weight classes starting this year were increased slightly, for example the smallest weight class went from 101 to 103. One of the benefits for the change is adjusting the classifications and bringing five of the weight classes closer to that of the five Olympic weight classes.

Karina Vang posted a Second Place finish by going 3-1. After receiving a bye to start the 103 bracket, she defeated Trinity Motter (Friends) by tech fall, 14-4. In the quarterfinals, Vang defeated Eyvori Jacquez (Saint Mary, KS) by decision 11-4. In the semifinals, she defeated Piper Montoya (unattached) by fall in 2:20. Vang lost in the finals, 4-0, to Audare Cruz (unattached).

Kimberly Navarette went 3-2 at 103. She opened with three straight 10-0 tech fall wins, defeating Alexis Heredia (Jarvis Christian), Kyra Gonzalez (Midland), and Vanessa Tellez (Friends). She dropped her semifinal match to Cruz by tech fall, 10-0, and lost in the consolation bracket to NJCAA No. 1 Calli Connally (Carl Albert) by fall in 1:09.

In the 110 bracket, Jaden Breeden went 4-2. She opened with a pair of pins, defeating Audrina Houston (Avila) in 1:37 and Alexis Navarette (Wayland Baptist) in 0:54. In the quarterfinals, she lost to NJCAA No. 5 Addison Polk (Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa) by fall in 2:54. Breeden followed with a victory over NJCAA No. 6 Amaya Rubalcado (Carl Albert) by fall in 1:44. She then defeated Nahim Arenas (Wayland Baptist) by tech fall, 14-4. In her final match, she lost to NAIA No. 15 Aynsley Fink (Ottawa) by fall in 3:18.

Emily Cano picked up two wins at 117. She received a forfeit win to open bracket competition before defeating Skylar Gragg (Jarvis Christian) by tech fall, 12-2, in the quarterfinals. She dropped her semifinal match to NAIA No. 18 Kendall Martin (Ottawa) by fall in 2:26 and lost in the consolation bracket to Laila Mirza (Carl Albert) by tech fall, 12-2.

Taylor Weber added one win at 117. She defeated Sadie Aldestein (Oklahoma State) by tech fall, 10-0. In the quarterfinals, she lost to Shae Salinas (Ottawa) by a 7-7 decision as Salinas scored the final points, giving her the tie-break. In the consolation bracket, Weber lost to Mirza by fall in 1:58.

In the 124 bracket, Julia Breeden went 3-2. She defeated NJCAA No. 3 Chanelle Alburg (Carl Albert) by decision, 13-6. Breeden followed with a pin over Alanna Holly (Wayland Baptist) in 1:39 and Dru Turner (unattached) in 3:35. She lost in the semifinals to Peyton Hand (Ottawa) by fall in 1:03 and to Emma Truex (Ottawa) in the consolation bracket in 3:00.

Ashlee Palimo'o went 4-2 at 131 for the Tigers. She opened with a pin over Andrea Uribe (Avila) in 21 seconds, fourth-fastest in program history. She then defeated Citalli Islas (Jarvis Christian) by tech fall, 10-0. In the quarterfinals, Palimo'o lost to NJCAA No. 7 Samara Markwardt (Carl Albert) by fall in 4:02. She bounced back with a tech fall win, 14-4, over Myah Brown (Wayland Baptist) and a forfeit win over Aaliah Guebara (unattached). In her final match, she lost to NAIA No. 14 Bryce White (Oklahoma City) by decision, 3-3, with White holding the tie-break.

Mckenna Kisela and Brooke Cox were involved in six combined matches all decided by fall in the 131 division. Kisela defeated Kennedy Harris (Friends) in 3:36 while Cox defeated Chloe Taylor (Avila) in 2:58.

At 138, Bridgette Sotomayor won three matches. After dropping her opening match by tech fall, 13-2, she defeated Lainey Farley (Ottawa) by fall in 1:27. Sotomayor added a 10-0 tech fall win over Alondra Valles (Carl Albert) and a pin of Jaclyn Riedinger (Avila) in 1:18. In her final match, she lost to NAIA No. 3 Gianna Moreno (Friends) by decision, 12-5.

Payton Weese went 4-2 at 145 and placed fourth in the bracket. She dropped her first match to NAIA No. 18 Allison King by tech fall, 14-4. Weese bounced back with four straight wins. She defeated Sara Souresjhani (Avila) by fall in 2:10 and Alexis Means (WTC) by forfeit. Her next win was over Taya Hunt (Carl Albert) by fall in 2:56. Weese tied Palimo'o for the fastest pin of the day, topping Avery Shinkle (Wayland Baptist) in 21 seconds. In the Third Place match, she lost to Kaydence Bonewell (Ottawa) by decision, 7-6.

Lauren Garcia won two matches at 160. She defeated Joy Ortiz (York) by decision, 3-2, and Shayana St Cyr (Friends) by tech fall, 10-0. She dropped her semifinal match, 10-0, and took a forfeit in the consolation bracket.

Aspen Barber won one match in the 160 bracket. After dropping a narrow decision, 6-5, to Corin Lowe (Oklahoma City), Barber defeated Mackenzie Botka (Oklahoma State) by forfeit. Barber then dropped out of the bracket with a medical forfeit.

In the 180 bracket, Yazmin Belk took Fourth Place with a 3-2 record. She opened with a win over No. 15 Payton Sholander (Wayland Baptist) by fall in 2:52 and then topped Siara Arrington (Ottawa) by fall in 5:44. Belk dropped her semifinal match to Kaylee Davis (Ottawa) by fall in 3:56. She bounced back with a 12-7 decision victory over Ciera Hutton-Spieker (Ottawa) before losing the final match to Audrey Lockhart (Wayland Baptist) in 34 seconds.

Hailey Romero picked up a win in the 180 bracket, pinning Madison Welch (Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa) in 51 seconds. She dropped her other two matches by fall.

Next up for the Tigers will be the Waldorf Open on November 9 in Forest City, Iowa.