The No. 1 Iowa women’s wrestling team brought home six top-three finishers at the NCC Open at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, on Sunday.
Among them were Kylie Welker, Macey Kilty, and Nanea Estrella leading the way for the Hawkeyes, each taking home first-place finishes at their respective weight classes.
The Hawkeyes started the day with eight byes in round one: Allie Baudhuin and Emmily Patneaud at 131 pounds, Estrella and Danni Swihart at 138, Rianne Murphy and Kilty at 103 and 145, respectively, and Katja Osteen and Alivia White at 207.
Valarie Solorio, Cali Leng, and Welker all won via tech fall in their respective weight classes at 110, 124, and 180 pounds. Cadence Diduch defeated Cadie Percy of Wisconsin-Stevens Point by a 7-0 decision.
But the Hawkeyes took their first loss of the day when Rose Kaplan of Indiana Tech defeated Ava Rose by a 6-2 decision at 124 pounds, and their second loss came in a 207-pound bout, where Indiana Tech junior Riley Dempewolf defeated Sam Calkins by a 4-1 decision.
Round two started hot for the Hawkeyes, though, with six-straight victories from Murphy, Solorio, Leng, Baudhuin, Estrella, and Patneaud. This streak ended following a tech fall loss for Diduch, but Swihart got the Hawkeyes back on track with a tech fall victory at 138 pounds. Kilty followed with a 12-1 win over Sariah Zepeda of Southern Oregon at 145. At 180, Welker made it three in a row for the Hawkeyes with a tech fall victory while White and Osteen wrapped up round two with wins at 207.
Murphy led off the quarterfinals for the Hawkeyes with a tech fall victory at 103 pounds, advancing to the semifinals. The Hawkeyes then took four-straight losses at 110, 124, and 131 pounds from Solorio, Leng, Baudhuin, and Patneaud, respectively.
Estrella advanced to the semifinals at 138 pounds with a tech fall victory while Swihart fell to Estella Gutches of McKendree University via tech fall. Kilty advanced to the semifinals with a tech fall victory at 145 pounds, and Welker also joined the semifinal party with a tech fall win. Osteen and White both advanced to the semis at 207 pounds.
And they weren’t done there.
Murphy defeated Odelia Lopez of Schreiner University, 6-0, at 103 pounds. Estrella joined her teammate in advancing to the championship final, winning her bout by an 8-0 decision at 138. Kilty advanced to the final as well, winning her semifinal match, 10-0, via tech fall at 145. Welker followed suit with a victory at 180 pounds to advance to the final.
White faced off with fellow teammate Osteen at 207 pounds and got the victory by a 4-0 decision to advance to the finals. Thus, five of six Hawkeyes who had advanced to the semifinals made it to the championship final.
Murphy’s run would come to an end in the championship final, falling, 13-2, to Erin Hikiji of Providence. Welker, however, claimed first place in the championship bracket after defeating Brittyn Corbishley of North Central, 10-0, at 180 pounds.
White fell to Sara Lake of Lindenwood by a 3-0 decision at 207. Estrella got the Hawkeyes back in the win column with a 3-0 decision to take home first place at 138. And Iowa head coach Clarissa Chun was thus very impressed with Estrella on Sunday as well as this season as whole.
“She’s so powerful,” Chun said. “She’s got a really high gear … She did a great job because she wanted to test herself and challenge herself this year.”
Kilty finished the day for the Hawkeyes with another championship victory at 145 with an 8-0 win by decision.
Mentality wins matches
The Hawkeyes’ success on Sunday was a direct reflection of the mentality and messaging that coach Chun and staff deliver.
“I think our messaging is just to bring their best effort out there every time,” Chun said. “We try not to worry about the outcome … [We’re] just trying to make sure that they stay where they’re at and take care of what they can.”
Up next
The top-ranked Iowa women’s wrestling team will return to action at the Soldier Salute inside Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, from Dec. 29-30.