Hawkeyes Bring Home Six Gold Medals from Princeton Open

PRINCETON, N.J. – The University of Iowa women’s wrestling team is coming home with a total of ten top-three finishes, including six champions from the Princeton Open this Sunday at the Jadwin Gymnasium.

At 101 pounds, Hawkeyes Emilie Gonzalez and Sterling Dias finished as the top two in their weight class. Dias flew through her quarterfinal and semifinal matches, outscoring her opponents 10-0 and wrestling a total of 2:12. Beside Dias, Gonzalez flew through her matches as well, recording one pin and two tech. falls. In their finals bout, Gonzalez came out on top after a hard-fought match, winning by a 7-0 decision against Dias.

At 109 pounds, Ava Bayless took first place allowing only two points on the day. Bayless opened in the quarterfinals against Anni Futch of Lehigh, needing only 0:31 seconds to secure a 10-0 tech. fall. In the semifinals, Bayless secured her spot in the finals pinning Johnae Drumright of Princeton in just 1:38. In the first-place match, Bayless took the championship with a 9-2 decision over third-ranked Kaelani Shufeldt of Lock Haven.

Brianna Gonzalez finished strong at 116 pounds taking the first-place medal. Gonzales started off with a quick 0:33 second tech. fall over Marymount’s Alexis Deagle, 10-0. Advancing to the quarters, Gonzalez continued with another 10-0 tech. fall to down Jayleah Pletz of Lock Haven. In her semi-finals match, Gonzalez took the match to the very end against Pan-Am ICS’s Kaura Coles, winning by a close 10-8 decision. To secure her first-place finish, Gonzales pinned Chloe Ayres of Princeton in just 2:13.

Felicity Taylor brought the gold medal count up to four at 123 pounds. Taylor rounded up a total record of 41-6 against her four opponents. Three of her four victories were due to tech. fall; two ending in 11-0 scores and one ending 12-2. In her championship match, Taylor took it to the end against Vayle-rae Baker of West Point, winning by a 7-4 decision. Also at 123 pounds, Ava Rose finished in 5th place going 3-1 on the day, outscoring her opponents 48-6.

The Hawkeyes had a loaded bracket at 130, totaling five University of Iowa wrestlers. Emily Frost took the third-place finish, After earning a fall in 3:39 over Dorothea West of Drexel to move her into the quarters, where she faced teammate Lilly Luft. Frost advance to the semis after pinning Luft in 1:44, sending her to the second consolation round of 8. In the semis, Frost fell to Taina Fernandez of Cavalier, via 10-0 tech. fall. Frost pushed through the consolation bracket to finish with a third place finish against Jaclyn Dehney of DGHG.

Cali Leng also dropped to the 130 pound consolation bracket due to a 11-0 tech. fall by Alex Town of London, after earning a tech. fall and a win by 6-4 decision over NYCRTC’s Katrina Kling. Leng met teammate Anakya Besco in the 5th place match, and secured her fifth-place finish due to the six-matches a day limit.

At 136 pounds, Nanea Estrella earned a fouth-place finish after battling back through the consolation rounds due to a loss in the round of 16. Estrella went 42-0 through the consolation round up until her third-place match against Jordyn Fouse, where she was pinned in 5:15.

Ella Schmit and Reese Larramendy recorded a second and third place finish respectively at 143 pounds. Schmit started it off in the quarters with a quick pin in 1:33 against Morgan Edwards of Blair Academy. Schmit made her way into the finals after another pin against second-ranked Grace Stem of Lock Haven, in just 2:26. In her finals match, Schmit fell short to NYCRTC’s Maya Letona via 10-0 tech. fall. Larramendy battled through to the semis where she lost due to a 12-1 tech. fall by Letona. In the consolation bracket, Larramendy wrestled back to the third-place bout where she defeated second-ranked Stem, via 10-0 tech. fall.

At 170, Haley Ward allowed no points scored against her, earning two tech. falls and one pin. In her finals match, Ward defeated Henlee Haynes of Presbyterian by a 10-0 tech. fall in just 2:10.

To cap off the tournament, Alivia White took the first-place medal, wrestling a total of 2:02 the entire tournament. In White’s quarter-finals match, she defeated Shelly Gushue of Ursinus via pin in just 0:18. To advance her to the finals match, White notched another pin in 0:44 over Presbyterian’s Ella Beam. White needed just a minute in her finals match to secure the pin over Sophie Pollack of Delaware Valley.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH CLARISSA CHUN
“It was a great weekend for our women to showcase what they’ve been working on and to see where our team is at. I want to thank ESU and Coach Nieves for opening our season. They are a strong team with great competitors and coaches. Our women came out with a lot of energy that propelled each one to bring out their best.
The Princeton Open was a great season opener competition with other collegiate programs from the East coast, women’s club programs and senior age women to compete against. There was great wrestling from our women and we are looking forward to continuing to get better throughout the season. We are appreciative of the Hawk Fans support, that showed up, and tuned in.”

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes will head back home to Carver-Hawkeye Arena next Sunday for the Trailblazer Duals. The first match is set to start at 11 a.m. (CT).

RESULTS

101lbs – Sterling Dias, 2nd place

WIN Sheila Cortez (Rider WC), Fall 1:08

WIN Emma Heslin (Lock Haven), Fall 1:04

LOSS Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa), Dec. 7-0

101lbs – Emilie Gonzalez, 1st place

WIN Lexi Doerflinger (Hiram), Fall 0:55

WIN McKenna Acampora (Unrostered), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Chiara Barbieri (Presbyterian), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Sterling Dias (Iowa), Dec. 7-0

109lbs — Ava Bayless, 1st place

WIN Anni Futch (Lehigh), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Johnae Drumright (Princeton), Fall 1:38

WIN #3 Kaelani Shufeldt (Lock Haven), Dec. 9-2

116lbs – Brianna Gonzalez, 1st place

WIN Alexis Deagle (Marymount), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Jayleah Pletz (Lock Haven), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Kaura Coles (Pan-Am ICS), Dec. 10-8

WIN Chloe Ayres (Princeton), Fall 2:13

123lbs – Felicity Taylor, 1st place

WIN Anna Kalcich (Lock Haven), Tech. Fall 11-0

WIN Alyssa Mahan (Presbyterian), Tech. Fall 12-2

WIN Ava Rose (Iowa), Tech. Fall 11-0

WIN Vayle-Rae Baker (West Point), Dec. 7-4

123lbs – Ava Rose, 5th place

WIN Julianna Van Ness (Lock Haven), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Bridgette Schoultz (Delaware Valley), Tech. Fall 14-4

LOSS Felicity Taylor (Iowa), Tech. Fall 11-0

WIN Jocelyn Lass (Ursinus), Tech. Fall 13-2

123lbs – Bella Ngo, DNP

LOSS Vayle-rae Baker (West Point), Fall 1:11

WIN Isabella Devito (Lock Haven), Tech. Fall 10-0

LOSS Alyssa Mahan (Presbyterian), Dec. 6-4

130lbs – Anakya Besco, 6th place

LOSS Lillian Sherer (Lock Haven), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Chelsea Marcelle (NYCRTC), Fall 0:19

WIN Lauren Gherman (Ursinus), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Katrina Kling (NYCRTC), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Lydia Knarr (Lock Haven), Fall 2:39

LOSS Emily Frost (Iowa), Tech. Fall

LOSS Cali Leng (Iowa), *Tech. Forfeit

130lbs – Cali Leng, 5th place

WIN Stacy Bloomfield (Ursinus), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Katrina Kling (NYCRTC), Dec. 6-4

LOSS Alex Town (London), Tech. Fall 11-0

LOSS Jaclyn Dehney (DGHG), Fall 0:54

WIN Anakya Besco (Iowa), *Tech. Forfeit

130lbs – Emily Frost, 3rd place

WIN Dorothea West (Drexel), Fall 3:39

WIN Lilly Luft (Iowa), Fall 1:44

LOSS Taina Fernandez (Cavalier), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Anakya Besco (Iowa), Tech. Fall 12-2

WIN Jaclyn Dehney (DGHG), *Tech. Forfeit

130lbs — Lilly Luft, DNP

WIN Lydia Knarr (Lock Haven), Tech. Fall 10-0

LOSS Emily Frost (Iowa), Fall 1:44

LOSS Jaclyn Dehney (DGHG), Tech. Fall 10-0

130lbs – Alex Baudhuin, DNP

WIN Chelsea Marcelle (NYCRTC), Tech. Fall 10-0

LOSS Taina Fernandez (Cavalier), Tech. Fall 10-0

LOSS Jaclyn Dehney (DGHG), Fall 2:07

136lbs – Sierra Brown Ton, DNP

LOSS Kira Pipkins (NYCRTC), Fall 5:13

WIN Cara Zhu (NYCRTC), Fall 0:29

WIN Ava Curry (Princeton), Fall 1:56

LOSS #2 Paige Wehrmeister (Presbyterian), Tech. Fall 10-0

136lbs – #3 Nanea Estrella, 4th place

LOSS Arian Carpio (NYCRTC), Dec. 8-1

WIN Madyson Hickman (Ursinus), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Kira Pipkins (NYCRTC), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN Vivexa Pannell (Mit), Tech. Fall 12-0

WIN Corynne McNulty (Blaire Academy), Tech. Fall 10-0

LOSS Jordyn Fouse (Unrostered), Fall 5:15

143lbs – Reese Larramendy, 3rd place

WIN Olivia Kinder (Delaware Valley), Fall 2:42

WIN Daniella Nugent (DGHG), Dec. 14-6

LOSS Maya Letona (NYCRTC), Tech. Fall 12-1

WIN Veloria Pannell (Mit), Tech. Fall 10-0

WIN #2 Grace Stem (Lock Haven), Tech. Fall 10-0

143lbs – Ella Schmit, 2nd place

WIN Morgan Edwards (Blair Academy), Fall 1:33

WIN #2 Grace Stem (Lock Haven), Fall 2:26

LOSS Maya Letona (NYCRTC), Tech. Fall 10-0

170lbs – Haley Ward, 1st place

WIN Caira Jaynes (Delaware Valley), Tech. Fall 11-0

WIN Azariah Moore (Lock Haven), Fall 0:53

WIN Henlee Haynes (Presbyterian), Tech. Fall 10-0

191lbs – Alivia White, 1st place

WIN Shelly Gushue (Ursinus), Fall 0:18

WIN Ella Beam (Presbyterian), Fall 0:44

WIN Sophie Pollack (Delaware Valley), Fall 1:00

*Indicates a technical forfeit for the Hawkeyes due to the six-match per day limit.