Strong Showing Takes Warriors into Holiday Break

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – No. 19 Midland University competed in the North Central Women's Invitational on Sunday at the Residence Hall/Recreation Center. Eight Warriors wrestled among 426 competitors, primarily from NCAA Division II and III programs.

Zoe Omura competed in the 103-pound division and finished 4-2. The 17th-ranked NAIA wrestler opened with a technical fall victory over Myra Bair (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), 10-0. In the second round, Omura was pinned by Rianne Murphy (Iowa) at 2:30. She rebounded with three consecutive technical fall wins, defeating Prestejah Yockeman (Schreiner), Gabriella Motz (Albion), and Karina Torres (Carthage), all by 10-0 scores. In the consolation first-place match, Omura fell to Mana Chanthasone (Chadron State) at 1:49.

In the 117-pound "B" division, Destiny Castillo received a first-round bye but lost in the second round to Nadia Thomas (North Central) via technical fall, 10-0. In consolation round two, Castillo was pinned by Caitlin Reiter (Lindenwood) at 2:20.

Taylor Hood, Brianna Gayton, and Eny Bravo represented the Warriors in the 131-pound "B" bracket. Hood opened with a fall over Bella Serrano (New Jersey City) at 1:52 and earned another pin against Carly Cowes (Alma) at 1:11. She was defeated in the quarterfinals by Katie Ramirez-Quintero (Joliet Junior College) via technical fall, 10-0, and lost a close 11-10 decision to Dakota Drew (North Central) in consolation round three. Gayton also opened with a fall, pinning Alanis Cedeno (William Jewell) in 1:05. She fell to Kaiya Winbush (North Central) at 3:32 in round two and dropped her consolation match to Kaleigh Allender (Quincy), 14-11. Bravo went 0-2, losing her opening match to Gracie Guarino (North Central) via technical fall, 10-0, and her second match to Carly Cowes (Alma) by fall at 1:08.

Maci Avila wrestled in the 138-pound division, finishing 3-2. She won her opening match over Alexis Kelley (Indiana Tech) via technical fall, 10-0, but lost in the second round to Alexis Lazar (unattached) by fall at 5:19. In consolation round two, Avila pinned Taylor Miess (North Central) in 1:38. She followed with a 5-2 decision over Lili Ujfalvi (Gannon) in consolation round three before dropping a 9-6 decision to Cadence Diduch (Iowa) in the fourth round.

In the 145-pound "B" division, Makena Schramm and Abigale Holtz represented Midland. Schramm pinned Nina Aceves (Iowa Lakes CC) in 4:42 in her opening match but lost to Caylynn Chandler (North Central) via technical fall, 12-1, in the second round. She rallied with four straight wins: a fall over Priscilla Hartwell (Northern Michigan) in 46 seconds, a victory via injury default against Vanessa Gray (Illinois Wesleyan), a technical fall (11-0) against Hattie Hobar (Baldwin Wallace), and a fall in just 18 seconds over Makayla Howard (Aurora) in the consolation first-place match. Holtz, who received a first-round bye, lost her second-round match to Sabrina Sifuentez (Southern Oregon) via technical fall, 10-0. She rebounded with a 10-0 technical fall win over Kaylei Sanford (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) in consolation round two before losing to Makayla Howard (Aurora) via technical fall, 11-0, in round three.

The Warriors will have over a month off before returning to the mat on Saturday, January 18, at the York Open. The competition begins at 9:00 a.m. at the Freeman Center in York, Nebraska.