Warriors Claim Third Place at GPAC Championships

CRETE, Neb. – (RV) Midland University placed third at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships on Saturday at the Haddix Center on the campus of Doane University. All 11 Warriors wrestlers finished in the top six, earning 107.5 team points. Host Doane claimed the championship banner with 187.5 points.

Zoe Omura placed third at 103 pounds. Ranked No. 16 in the latest NAIA polls, Omura advanced through the quarterfinals with a bye. In the semifinals, she fell to No. 19 Alanis Serrano-Rios of Waldorf by criteria after a 4-4 tie. Following a consolation semifinal bye, Omura defeated teammate Kyra Gonzalez by technical fall, 12-0, at 1:58. She then bowed out of the second-place match against Serrano-Rios via no contest.

Gonzalez also received a quarterfinal bye but lost to No. 4 Karina Vang of Doane in the semifinals by fall at 52 seconds. After a consolation semifinal bye, she fell to Omura and secured fourth place.

Destiny Castillo finished fourth at 110 pounds. Following a quarterfinal bye, she lost to Edyn Hartman of Waldorf by fall at 4:03. In the consolation semifinals, Castillo fell to Rayleigh Guyer of Hastings, 3-2, to place fourth.

Emily Paulino was the conference runner-up at 124 pounds. Ranked No. 13, Paulino won her quarterfinal match over Elizabeth Rubio of Morningside by fall in just 37 seconds. In the semifinals, she defeated teammate Taylor Hood by a 9-1 decision. In the championship match, Paulino fell to top-ranked Cristelle Rodriguez of Doane by technical fall, 11-0, at 1:47. She then claimed second place via no contest over Hood.

Hood, who received a quarterfinal bye, lost to Paulino in the semifinals before advancing through the consolation semifinals with a bye. She then defeated Amanda Durrant of Waldorf by technical fall, 14-4, at 5:39, before bowing out to Paulino to finish third.

Keira Nartatez placed fourth at 131 pounds. After a quarterfinal bye, she lost to No. 15 Larissa Kaz of Hastings by fall at 3:32. In the consolation semifinals, Nartatez defeated teammate Brianna Gaytan by technical fall, 10-0, at 4:25. In the third-place match, she lost to Keera Lacock of Dakota Wesleyan by fall at 1:14.

Gaytan fell in her quarterfinal bout against No. 17 Ashlee Palimo of Doane by technical fall, 10-0, at 3:00. She bounced back in the consolation rounds, defeating Adilene Delgadillo of Morningside via criteria after a 6-6 tie. After losing to Nartatez, she pinned Abigail Atibagos of Waldorf at 2:05 to finish fifth.

Eny Bravo took fourth at 138 pounds. After a quarterfinal loss to No. 19 Tabitha Wood of Hastings by fall at 1:29, Bravo advanced through the consolation bracket, pinning Izzy Urban of Waldorf in 2:36. In the third-place match, she lost to Neve Barragan of Waldorf by fall at 4:27.

Makenna Schramm finished as the GPAC runner-up at 145 pounds. In the quarterfinals, she defeated No. 16 Bridgette Sotomayor of Doane by a 4-0 decision. She then pinned No. 17 Emma Stice of Hastings in the semifinals at 4:44. In the championship match, Schramm lost to No. 4 Aevri Ciha of Doane by technical fall, 10-0, at 1:00.

Midland's Abigale Holtz placed sixth at 145 pounds. She lost her quarterfinal bout to No. 18 Lisa Hoeflich of Hastings by technical fall, 10-0, at 3:32. In the consolation bracket, Holtz pinned Angelica Castillejo of Waldorf in 1:20 before falling to Stice by technical fall, 10-0, at 4:53. In the fifth-place match, she lost to Hoeflich again, 11-0, at 5:15.

Ja'Nya Banks finished fourth at 160 pounds. She won her quarterfinal match over No. 17 Lamia Benn of Doane by fall at 2:45 but fell to No. 18 Isabella Deeds of Hastings in the semifinals by fall at 4:19. In the consolation semifinals, Banks pinned Renee Miguel of Waldorf at 5:42 before dropping an 8-4 decision to Benn in the third-place match.

Each conference tournament was awarded automatic bids per weight class based on the final regular-season ratings. With that, Emily Paulino (124) and Makena Schramm (145) earned a berth in the NAIA National Championships later this month. The NAIA's 12-member selection committee, consisting of conference raters and oversight members, will meet to determine the remaining at-large qualifiers to fill the 210-wrestler field. The national office will release the final list on Tuesday, March 4.

The 2025 NAIA Women's Wrestling National Championships will take place March 14-15 at Park City Arena in Wichita, Kansas.