Rodriguez Wins Title; Women's Wrestling Ties for 9th
Women's Wrestling competed at the NAIA National Championships on Friday and Saturday in Park City, Kansas. The Tigers rolled up 70.5 team points to tie for ninth overall, their first Top 10 finish at the NAIA Championships in program history.
Cristelle Rodriguez won her second straight national championship as she went 5-0 in the 124 bracket. She opened the tournament with a pair of pins covering a combined 2:00 of action. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 8-seed Kamilah Brooks (Lindsey Wilson) by tech fall, 10-0. She then defeated 4-seed Jasmina Immaeva (Missouri Valley) by tech fall, 11-0, in the semifinals.
In the championship match, she faced 2-seed Katie Gomez (Cumberlands). Gomez struck first and picked up three points in the opening period. Rodriguez picked up a takedown in the second period to cut into the lead, however, Gomez was able to pick up a takedown with 1:03 left to take a 5-2 lead. Rodriguez would receive a penalty point with 50 seconds left to pull within two points and then hit a takedown with 36 seconds left to tie the match. The match ended in a 5-5 tie, however, with Rodriguez scoring last, she received the win based on criteria.
Following the tournament, Rodriguez was named the NAIA Women's Wrestler of the Year for the second straight season.
In the 145 division, Bridgette Sotomayor entered unranked and went on to place fifth. She drew the 2-seed, Liv Weber (Eastern Oregon) in the opening match and was defeated. Sotomayor followed with four straight wins. She pinned 5-seed Krista Warren (Grand View) to clinch All-American honors and then advanced via a disqualification on 6-seed Anastasia Hardin (Missouri Baptist). She met Weber once again, dropping the match and moving into the Fifth Place match against Aubrey Yauger (Texas Wesleyan). Sotomayor trailed 6-2 in the first period but tied the match by the end of the three minutes, 6-6. She scored six straight points in the second period before pinning Yauger in 4:33.
Karina Vang placed seventh in the 103 division. She won her first two matches, picking up an 11-0 tech fall win and a pin in 3:35. Vang lost her quarterfinal match but won a decision victory on criteria to snag All-American honors. She dropped her next match and would wrestle for Seventh Place. She was 17 seconds into her match when a head injury would result in a stoppage with Vang receiving the win.
Aspen Barber placed seventh in the 160 division. She received a bye in the opening round and won her first match, 4-1, to advance to the quarterfinals. Barber dropped her next match to the top seed and eventual national champion Latifah McBryde (Life). She won her next match to guarantee All-American honors as she defeated Alexa Wolf (William Penn), 8-1. She dropped her next match, moving into the Seventh Place match against Abigail Sebesta (Ottawa). Barber pinned Sebesta in 2:08 for the win.
In the 131 division, Ashlee Palimo'o won two matches for the Tigers, both by decision. Yazmin Belk picked up one win by pin at 180 while Hailey Romero had a win by pin at 207 to account for the remaining team points.