DES MOINES — The No. 1 Iowa women’s wrestling team brought five champions and 16 total top-five finishes home sent at the Grand Valley Open in Des Moines on Saturday.
Rianne Murphy, Ava Bayless, Reese Larramendy, Naomi Simon, and Katja Osteen all cruised their way to a first place title in their respective weight classes.
Hawkeye first-year Murphy made quick work in her first two matches at 103 pounds. Murphy pinned her way to the championship final, with her quickest match coming against Life’s Brianna Funakoshi. Murphy pinned Funakoshi in one minute and 14 seconds.
Murphy and Hawkeye teammate Sterling Dias faced each other in the 103-pound final. Murphy found her way to the scoreboard first with a step-out. A reversal from Murphy extended her lead to 3-0. Murphy extended her lead to 5-0, which was ultimately the final score as Murphy clinched the title at 103 pounds.
Bayless sifted her way through the competition with ease at 110 pounds, defeating each of her first four opponents without allowing a single point. Bayless pinned Missouri Valley’s Hailey Holland in just 20 seconds in the second round. Bayless cruised her way into the final, where she took on Hawkeye teammate Valarie Solorio.
A passivity warning on Solorio gave Bayless a 1-0 advantage before she executed a four-point throw at the end of period one to stretch her lead to five. Bayless added on in the second to claim the win by decision, 7-0.
At 145 pounds, redshirt second-year Larramendy battled her way into the final. In round one, Larramendy defeated Dylen Ritchey of Fort Hays State, 7-4, by decision after being knotted up at four apiece after period one.
Larramendy’s next match was much less contested, as she cruised to a 12-1 tech fall win to advance to the quarterfinals.
Larramendy then defeated Marissa Angelos of Askren Academy in another hard-fought battle. Neither wrestler scored on any takedowns or throws, but Larramendy got the win by two passivity penalties from Angelos.
In the semifinal, Larramendy defeated Hawkeye teammate Ella Schmit, 8-2, by decision to lock up a spot in the final.
Larramendy took on Krista Warren of Grand View in the final at 145 pounds. Larramendy secured an early takedown before Warren cut the lead to 2-1 with a step-out. Larramendy went in with a double-leg takedown to extend her lead to 6-1 and took an 8-1 lead into the break. Warren responded with a takedown to cut the lead to 8-3.
A questionable takedown call on the edge warranted an explanation from the official to Hawkeye head coach Clarissa Chun, but Warren cut the lead to 8-5. Larramendy ultimately held on for a 10-5 victory to claim the title.
At 180 pounds, first-year sensation Naomi Simon rolled her way into the finals with two pins and a tech fall victory.
Simon battled America Lopez of William Penn for the championship title at 180 pounds. The first period had nearly zero action, with Simon taking a 2-0 lead into the break via two step-outs. Simon secured a takedown early in period two and continued to add on. Simon ultimately clinched the title with a tech fall victory, 10-0.
All of Simon’s victories on the season have come via tech fall or pin.
“That’s her,” Chun said when asked about Simon’s ability to finish matches. “She’s one that looks for more points and wants to end matches as quickly as she can. She has that Iowa mentality in the sense of, ‘Go out there and dominate.’”
Redshirt third-year Katja Osteen worked her way to the final with two tech fall victories and a 48-second pin at 207 pounds. So Iowa teammates Alivia White and Osteen faced off in the championship. A four-point throw got Osteen on the scoreboard early. That 4-0 score would go without contest into the break. Osteen built on her lead throughout the second period to defeat her teammate, 9-1.
The Hawkeyes did not bring three of their top-ranked wrestlers but still had 16 total wrestlers come home with top-five finishes — especially as they dominated their way to Iowa-against-Iowa final matches.
“We have a few weeks until regionals,” Chun said. “For us as a coaching staff, there will be tough decisions ahead as we have to bring only 15 wrestlers to regionals.”
Up next
The Iowa women’s wrestling team will compete at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships Region VII Championships in Indianola, Iowa, on February 22.