Red Devils Take on Tough Field at Regionals
INDIANOLA, IA. – Over the weekend, the Eureka women's wrestling team travelled to Indianola, Iowa to compete at the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) Region V Regional tournament.
At 109, Gada Bryant (Westville, Ill. / Westville) was pinned by McKendree's Pauline Granados in Championship Round 1 and was later pinned in Consolation Round 2 by McKendree's Consuelo Garcia.
At 116, McKendree's Julia Vidallon won by technical fall over Eureka's Kyley Bair (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) in Championship Round 1. Simpson's Jalynn Goodale later defeated Bair by technical fall in Consolation Round 2.
At 136, McKendree's Viktorya Torres won by technical fall over Eureka's Kiza Williams (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) in Championship Round 1. Simpson's Vaness Elexpuru later pinned Williams in Consolation Round 2.
Mckenzie Cook (Homer, Alaska) finished in 7th at 143. In Championship Round 1, Cook pinned Wartburg's Ali Russler in 6:00. William Jewell College's Athena Willden pinned Cook in 2:14 to send her to the consolation side of the bracket, where Cook met up against her EC teammate Audrey Driskell (Pekin, Ill./Pekin). Driskell had previously been pinned in 1:51 by Warburg's Aniyah Kelly and then advanced in the consolation bracket by receiving a bye.
Cook won over Driskell by technical fall in Consolation Round 2. After losing to Lindenwood's Rebecca Strong by decision, Cook landed in the 7th Place Match, where she won over Buena Vista's Rylee Rodish by technical fall.
At 155, Parker Dafnis (Volo, Ill./Wauconda) was pinned by Lindenwood's Alana Duggan in 1:46 in Championship Round 1 and then lost by technical fall in Consolation Round 2.
Madison Farris (Chatsworth, Ill./Rifle) finished in 7th at 191. After getting pinned by Lindenwood's Makayla Rivera in Championship Round 1 and losing to William Jewel's Sydni Scott by technical fall in Consolation Round 1, Farris finished strong. The Eureka standout pinned Wartburg's Emersen Smith in just 53 seconds in the 7th place match.
"I couldn't be more proud of the women's team," Coach Biehl said. "We've done huge things since last year and I expect us to continue to trend that way. There is much to celebrate both individually and as a team this year. We grew double in our roster size and achieved a winning record this season. They also were above a 3.0 GPA as a team. We'll be back even better next season! Thanks to all our followers."
The women's wrestling team finishes their 2nd season with an overall record of 7-5 and 4-0 in conference.