Hawkeyes Advance All 10 To National Championship

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The top ranked University of Iowa women’s wrestling team advanced all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA National Championships on Saturday, with eight winning individual regional titles. In total across both days, the Hawkeyes secured 11 pins and 19 technical falls. 

Three Hawkeyes will compete at the national championships for the first time: Valarie Solorio, Nyla Valencia, and Karlee Brooks. Competing for the second time are Lily Luft and Kennedy Blades. Three-time qualifiers are Kylie Welker, Cali Leng, Katja Osteen, and Reese Laramendy.

At 103 pounds, No. 2 Valarie Solorio notched two ranked wins, earning an 11-1 technical fall over No. 7 Chloe Sheffield of Wartburg and a 10-0 technical fall against No. 5 Trinity Pendergrass of Quincy.

No. 4 Nyla Valencia followed suit at 110 pounds, shutting out Alexandra Tchekounova of Quincy and No. 9 Afftynn Stusse of Wartburg with a pair of 10-0 technical falls.

At 117 pounds, No. 6 Brianna Gonzalez posted a 12-2 technical fall over Gable Hemann of Wartburg before finishing her run with a fall at 2:29 against No. 10 Shea Reisel of Dubuque. 

No. 8 Cali Leng picked up a fall at 3:44 over Mya Delleree of Wisconsin–Oshkosh but was defeated by No. 3 Xochitl Mota-Pettis of Quincy by 11-0 technical fall at 124 pounds.

At 131 pounds, No. 4 Karlee Brooks controlled both of her matches, securing a 12-2 technical fall over Moni Griffin of Augustana and a 12-1 technical fall against Madeline Barton of Quincy.

Lilly Luft closed out her day at 138 pounds with two decisions, earning a 5-0 win over Noa Arnold of Simpson and a 6-0 victory against No. 8 Kylie Rule of Wartburg.

At 145 pounds, No. 1 Reese Larramendy added two dominant performances, recording an 11-1 technical fall over Gia Ritter of Augustana and a 12-2 technical fall against No. 6 Annelise Obermark of Simpson.

Top-ranked Kennedy Blades remained sharp at 160 pounds, defeating May Prado of Wartburg and No. 9 Alexandra Hofrichter of Dubuque with consecutive 10-0 technical falls.

At 180 pounds, No. 1 Kylie Welker earned back-to-back 10-0 technical falls, first over Merin Yates of Dubuque and then over No. 9 Kara Kuge of Wisconsin–Stevens Point.

At 207 pounds, No. 2 Katja Osteen secured a fall in 0:27 against Jasmin Ocampo of Carthage College before dropping a tight 4-1 decision to No. 6 Rewa Chababo of Wartburg.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH CLARISSA CHUN
“We have to let the outcome play itself out, and qualifying all ten weights for the National Championship is a big step in their individual goals and our team goals. A big point of emphasis the last two weeks has been how they want to present themselves during a match and how to make it their match, not wrestling someone else's match.”

NOTABLES
-Iowa took home 8 region titles
-All 10 Hawkeyes made it to the finals
-Kylie Welker secured a technical fall in 0:15
 
RESULTS
103 – #2 Valarie Solorio
WIN Chelsea Beaver (Augsburg University), Fall 0:36
WIN Kirsten Cortez (Carthage C.), TF 13-2
WIN #7 Chloe Sheffield (Wartburg), TF 11-1 
WIN #5 Trinity Pendergrass (Quincy), TF 10-0 

110 – #4 Nyla Valencia
Bye
WIN Amelia Hermanson (Augsburg University), TF 10-0
WIN Alexandra Tchekounova (Quincy), TF 10-0 
WIN #9 Afftynn Stusse (Wartburg), TF 10-0 
 
117 – #6 Brianna Gonzalez 
Bye
WIN Gisele Gallegos (Augsburg University), Fall 2:38
WIN Gable Hemann (Wartburg), TF 12-2
WIN #10 Shea Reisel (Dubuque), Fall 2:29

124 – #8 Cali Leng
Bye
WIN Bree Swenson (Dubuque), Fall 2:22
WIN Mya Delleree (Wisconsin - Oshkosh), Fall 3:44
LOSS #3 Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Quincy), TF 11-0
 
131 – #4 Karlee Brooks
Bye
WIN Paige Haaf (Augsburg University), TF 10-0
WIN Moni Griffin (Augustana), TF 12-2
WIN Madeline Barton (Quincy), TF 12-1 

138 – Lilly Luft 
Bye
WIN Mattie Papenthein (Dubuque), TF 10-0
WIN Noa Arnold (Simpson), Dec 5-0 
WIN #8 Kylie Rule (Wartburg), Dec 6-0 
 
145 – #1 Reese Larramendy
Bye 
WIN Siobhan Rogers (Quincy), Fall 1:19
WIN Gia Ritter (Augustana), TF 11-1
WIN #6 Annelise Obermark (Simpson), TF 12-2 

160 - #1 Kennedy Blades
WIN Grace Rinehart (Luther), TF 10-0
WIN Eliana Callies (Upper Iowa), TF 10-0
WIN May Prado (Wartburg), TF 10-0 
WIN #9 Alexandra Hofrichter (Dubuque), TF 10-0
 
180 – #1 Kylie Welker
WIN Makenna Bovee (Carthage C.), Fall 0:33
WIN Tori Maxey (Cornell College), Fall 0:49
WIN Merin Yates (Dubuque), TF 10-0 
WIN #9 Kara Kuge (Wisconsin Stevens Point), TF 10-0 
 
207 – #2 Katja Osteen
WIN Kelsey Knief (Luther), Fall 0:13
WIN Alannah Peterson (Buena Vista), Fall 0:56
WIN Jasmin Ocampo (Carthage College), Fall 0:27
LOSS #6 Rewa Chababo (Wartburg), Dec 4-1

UP NEXT
The University of Iowa women's wrestling team returns to Xtreme Arena on Friday, Mar. 6, for the NCAA National Championships.