Iowa women’s wrestling placed third at the NWCA National Duals after two days of competition. The Hawkeyes defeated William Jewell, Grand Valley State, and Sacred Heart and collected five wins over ranked opponents in the medal round, but a 23-21 loss to North Central left them with the bronze.
Day One
The Hawkeyes saw a strong Friday showing, sporting a 40-5 victory over No. 20 William Jewell before besting Sacred Heart, 39-3.
Starting off at 103 pounds against William Jewell, fourth-year Sterling Dias nabbed an 11-0 technical fall to put Iowa on the board. At 110 pounds, second-ranked fourth-year Nyla Valencia won by forfeit to extend the Hawkeye lead.
Iowa found momentum early on and registered three falls en route to the win. At 138 pounds, third-year Lilly Luft pinned Zainab Ibrahim in 2:01, following a 1:22 pin moments earlier from fellow third-year Emily Frost over Shelby Kemp.
Third-ranked Katja Osteen notched a pin for the Hawkeyes 1:22 into the 180-pound contest, giving Iowa its third pin of the day, as well as its eighth of nine wins over William Jewell.
In competition against Sacred Heart, first-ranked second-year Valarie Solorio kicked things off with a 54-second pin at 103 pounds, Iowa’s fastest of the day.
Similar to their campaign against William Jewell, the Hawkeyes found early momentum in the competition, registering seven technical falls and a 2:20 pin to improve to 2-0 on the day.
“This is the national duals so you’re going to see top 16 teams in the country, you’re going to see some of the very best that you’re going to face this season, that’s where we are in the season,” Iowa head coach Clarissa Chun told HawkeyeSports. “We still have a couple of months in front of us before the national championships, and there’s always room to grow and learn.”
Day Two
Iowa bounced back from a tough start to Saturday’s competition to finish its weekend trip to Cedar Falls 3-1 with a third-place finish. Despite a 23-21 loss to No. 3 North Central, Iowa kept its medal ambitions alive with a 26-15 triumph over No. 4 Grand Valley State.
Solorio nabbed an 11-0 technical fall over Brianne Graves at 103 pounds to start Iowa off favorably, but North Central responded with three consecutive wins at 110, 117, and 124 pounds, two of which came from pins.
First-ranked third-year Karlee Brooks retaliated with an 8-4 decision over Yele Aycock, followed by third-ranked fourth-year Skye Realin with a decision victory over Claire Dicugno. At 145 pounds, second-ranked fourth-year Reese Larramendy upset first-ranked Bella Mir with an 8-4 decision to fuel the Hawkeyes’ momentum.
After a 1:38 fall at 207 pounds, however, Iowa narrowly fell to North Central.
“We can’t dwell on what happened, that doesn’t help us,” Chun said after the competition. “We have to rise, and pick ourselves back up again.”
The Hawkeyes did so against Grand Valley State, Dias starting the contest with a 7-0 decision at 103 pounds, followed by a 6-0 decision at 110 pounds from fourth-year Ava Bayless.
At 117 pounds, fourth-ranked fourth-year Brianna Gonzalez nabbed a 10-0 technical fall over Libby Roberts, Iowa’s first of the match.
The Hawkeyes’ early gains enabled a victory over the Lakers, capping off five total wins over ranked opponents on Saturday. For the weekend, Iowa tallied 16 technical falls and seven pins.
Up Next
The Hawkeyes travel to Mount Vernon, Iowa, for the CK Mike Duroe Invitational on Jan. 17. Competition is set to begin at 9 a.m. Central Time.
Iowa’s final home dual will follow the next day, facing off against Lehigh and Otterbein University inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena at noon.