An Overall Look at the First-Ever NAIA Women’s National Invitational

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A tremendous amount of action and emotion was crammed into one day in the Midwest state of North Dakota on Saturday March 16th for the inaugural NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Invitational. Competitors showed an ability to persevere through a long season and even serious travel hang-ups on the way to the tournament. After conversations with different coaches, it’s clear that not every team has managed to get the luck of the draw with health, but lineup strength remained strong regardless and yesterday it showed. This tournament was historical because the NAIA recognized women’s wrestling as an emerging sport for the 2018–19 collegiate season, thus creating the National Invitational.

# 1 Menlo College

Huge congratulations are in order to Menlo College as they won the overall team competition with a staggering lead of 76 points. Menlo had five individual champions, three runner-ups and 12 total All-Americans. That means all participating Menlo wrestlers left with AA status. Let that sink in for a moment.

Topping off their team success, head coach Joey Bareng was awarded the 2019 NAIA Coach of the Year by the NWCA. The Oaks are on a trajectory we should expect to see strengthening with the depth of their squad that is balanced throughout their academic classes. More about the Oaks performance, here.

# 2 Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma City battled back STRONG at a lot of weights to come in second place — it’s a tribute to their all across depth. Chi Chi Nwankwo challenged Paige Baynes of Wayland Baptist in the finals at 191-pounds, but came up short in the second period with a close 7–5 loss. Other stellar performances from the Stars include five third place All-Americans: Cassidy Jasperson (116), Destiny Lyng (136), Maggie Douma (143), Rachel Watters (170) and Sydney Fruend (130). Rachel Watters, by the way, missed the entire pre-championship season due to injury. Raven Guidry (109) secured 4th place in the tournament as another All-American for the Stars. OCU has a history of producing strong athletes. More about the Stars performance, here.

# 3 University of Jamestown

Host school University of Jamestown secured ten All-Americans at the end of the day jumping to 3rd in the team competition — two spots above the last NAIA Team poll that ranked them 5th. This is a big day for coaches and athletes at Jamestown. Not only were they able to host a successful event, but they were also able to continue to improve on their strength throughout the year. Cara Romeike was a Jimmie runner-up at 130-pounds. Teammates Junnette Caldera (101) and Myranda Velazquez (155) battled back for 3rd while Agatha Andrews (191) finished 4th. Watching the UJ women develop throughout the 2018–19 season has been enjoyable, and they are obviously a team to watch.

In addition to team performance, the University of Jamestown Jimmies were selected by attending NAIA coaches as the winner of the team Sportsmanship Award. Not a huge surprise there, the Jimmies are great to watch and respond humbly to both wins and losses. More about the Jimmies performance, here.

More Notables

The story of a successful program can begin, continue or end with one or more strong individuals.

  • Wayland Baptist had three champions in the tournament — Asia Ray (101), Jathiya Isaac-Thomas (116) and Paige Baynes (191). All of those matches were exciting, and to make it even more fun for the Pioneers they had Nina Pham as a runner-up behind Ray at 101. Isaac (116) was crowned Outstanding Wrestler after edging out Menlo’s Gracie Figueroa 3–2 in the championship bout. Wayland Alumna and Team USA member Tamyra Mensah-Stock joined the Pioneer crowd as they worked to secure their wins. The Pioneers are working with an extremely strong group of women that seem to be heading in the right direction.
  • Andribeth Rivera (130), McKayla Campbell (109) and Koral Sugiyama (123) represented Campbellsville University in championship bouts. Rivera came out on top with a pin in the first period to become the first NAIA champion for the Tigers while Campbell and Sugiyama finished runner-up. We can expect to look toward this team as a constant challenger to any opponent.
  • Missouri Baptist’s Dymond Guilford won her second title of the 2019 season with a win in the decorated 170-pound bracket. Dymond’s drive, humility and composure on and off the mat is sensational.
  • Dajan Treder (123), University of Providence, worked her way to the semi-finals and only met a setback against runner-up Sugiyama. Keeping composure all day, Treder battled back to All-American at 3rd over Eastern Oregon’s Macy Higa. Higa (123), who by the way is extremely fun to watch, was upset first round as the number one seed and had to fight back to attempt for 3rd before dropping 8–4 to Treder.
  • Anna Naylor (155), Bridgette Duty (136) and Madison Angelito (116) led the way as All-American’s for the University of the Cumberlands that placed 5th as a team. Life University’s Erica Sotelo finished her day runner-up at 136 and Tyesha Topps put on a spectacular performance for the Running Eagles working back to All-American at 3rd from her only loss against 109-pound champion Alleida Martinez of Menlo. Life has the numbers to put things together in the future.
  • 61 of 80 (76%) of athletes that placed (1–8) were from states with sanctioned girls wrestling at the interscholastic level.
  • A segment below lists a handful of student-athletes who earned their second All-American status of the 2019 season this weekend. The Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) All-American status represents a top-8 finish at the annual WCWA National Championships. That tournament includes competition eligible to current WCWA members from all intercollegiate divisional programs within the U.S. and Canada. The NAIA All-American status represents a top-4 finish at the NAIA National Invitational. For the purpose of this record, the NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans (places 5 — 8) will also be included.
  • The amount of two-time All-Americans from the WCWA National Championship tournament and the NAIA National Invitational shows that there is a solid spread of talent across the divisions recognized at the collegiate level for women’s wrestling. I.e., NAIA programs remain competitive with NCAA Divisional programs at this point.

Many more highlights could be added to this recap, but we’ll leave it here for now.

Looking Forward

It’s always interesting to see the relationships athletes from different teams maintain during their years of competition. Sportsmanship championed within wrestling builds a healthy long term approach to interactions. Some of these ladies most vicious competitors on this stage may become teammates at the next level in the future. While it’s not probable to enjoy every person we encounter, maintaining sportsmanship and respect in sport builds great values for life.

It should be really exciting to watch the next few years of championships unfold to expose what is driving the long-term success of programs. With more of these experiences we will be able to share factors like successful building of individuals, recruiting, retention and the future success of student-athletes as they transition out of the sport. Success at a national championships is a goal of the sport, but the real measure of success (that will drive enrollment, retention & opportunity) will be the alumni base created by these intercollegiate programs as their student-athletes move through each class and into professional endeavors. Fans should continue to drive support of the ladies in today’s competition and look forward to seeing the future of talent at unprecedented depths across various teams.

2019 NAIA Invitational Championship Matches

101 — Asia Ray (Wayland Baptist) dec. Nina Pham (Wayland Baptist), 8–1

109 — Alleida Martinez (Menlo College) tech. fall McKayla Campbell (Campbellsville), 10–0

116 — Jathiya Isaac (Wayland Baptist) dec. Gracie Figueroa (Menlo College), 3–2

123 — Tiana Jackson (Menlo College) dec. Koral Sugiyama (Campbellsville), 5–2

130 — Andribeth Rivera (Campbellsville) pin Cara Romeike (Jamestown), 1:47

136 — Solin Piearcy (Menlo College) dec. Erica Sotelo (Life), 8–1

143 — Marilyn Garcia (Menlo College) dec. Angela Peralta (Menlo College) 2–0

155 — Iman Kazem (Menlo College) pin Anna Naylor (Univ of Cumberlands), 0:39

170 — Dymond Guilford (Missouri Baptist) pin Precious Bell (Menlo College) 2:36

191 — Paige Baynes (Wayland Baptist) dec. Chi Chi Nwankwo (Oklahoma City), 7–5

2019 Two-Time Collegiate All-Americans (WCWA & NAIA)

  • Campbellsville University: McKayla Campbell (109); Koral Sugiyama (123); Andribeth Rivera (130); Mariah Harris (170); Alexandra Castillo (191).
  • Eastern Oregon University: Macy Higa (123).
  • Lyon College: Brianna Ribucan-Leong (109)
  • Menlo College: Hiba Salem (101); Alleida Martinez (109); Gracie Figueroa (116); Tiana Jackson (123); Solin Pearcy (136); Angela Peralta (143); Iman Kazem (155); Precious Bell (170).
  • Missouri Baptist University: Dymond Guilford (170).
  • Oklahoma City University: Raven Guidry (109); Cassidy Jasperson (116); Destiny Lyng (136); Maggie Douma (143); Chi Chi Nwankwo (191)
  • Southern Oregon University: Sienna Ramirez (143).
  • University of the Cumberlands: Madison Angelito (116); Bridgette Duty (136); Anna Naylor (155); Jesse Kirby (191).
  • University of Jamestown: Junnette Caldera (101); Cara Romeike (130); Myranda Valezquez (155); Agatha Andrews (191).
  • University of Providence: Dajan Treder (123).
  • Wayland Baptist University: Asia Ray (101); Nina Pham (101); Jathiya Isaac (116).

First time Collegiate All-Americans

This event was huge in different ways for different individuals. Women representing the following programs earned All-American status or Honorable Mention All-American recognition for the first time EVER at the collegiate level.

  • Campbellsville University: Sophia Carson (HM 136); Kenya Sloan (HM 170).
  • Eastern Oregon University: Cassidy Freeman (HM 109).
  • Life University: Faye Cherrier (HM 101); Amber Garriga (HM 101); Tyesha Topps (109); Aysia Cortez (HM 130); Erica Sotelo (136); Zoe Wight (143); Morgan Shines (HM 143); Destinee Rivera (HM 155); Sierra Talmadge (HM 155); Jordan Nelson (HM 170).
  • Lyon College: Kassidy Ramirez (HM 101); Elissa Douglas (HM 136).
  • Menlo College: Taryn Ichimura (HM 116); Marilyn Garcia (143); Brittany Woods-Orrison (HM 136); Emily Sandoval (191).
  • Midland University: Alannah Vetterick (HM 123) Gabriela Hunter (HM 155).
  • Missouri Baptist University: Angel Ochoa (HM 191).
  • Missouri Valley College: Shamera McTier (155); Jocelyn Murphy (HM 130);
  • Oklahoma City University: Sydney Freund (130); Cierra Foster (HM 143).
  • Ottowa University: Alessia Cokeley (HM 109); Victoria Norris (HM 123).
  • Southern Oregon University: Glory Konecny (HM 116); Anesia Ramirez (130); Julissa Taitano (HM 130).
  • University of the Cumberlands: Jessica Rodriguez (HM 101); Isabella Ricchiazzi (HM 155); Payton Rigert (HM 170).
  • Jamestown University: Chelsea Dionisio (HM 116); Jamayia Blackston (HM 116); Arianna Marrufo (HM 123); Alyssa Schrull (HM 155); Joy Muniz (HM 143).
  • Waldorf University: Diana Leyva (HM 109); Akina Yamada (HM 136).
  • Wayland Baptist University: Breanna Duduoit-Vasquez (HM 130)

2019 Academic All-Americans

Eligible junior or senior student-athletes with an academic standing of a 3.5 or higher cumulative GPA are recognized within the NAIA Scholar-Athlete program. This is a prestigious award, and the following athletes worked hard to earn it.

  • Anna Naylor (University of the Cumberlands)
  • Payton Rigert (University of the Cumberlands)
  • Jessica Rodriguez (University of the Cumberlands)
  • Zoe Wight (Life University)
  • Abby Mainzer (Oklahoma City University)
  • Margaret Douma (Oklahoma City University)
  • Lacey Henderson (Ottowa University)
  • Marina Briceno (Wayland Baptist University)
  • Iman Kazem (Menlo College)
  • Solin Piercy (Menlo College)
  • Marilyn Garcia (Menlo College)

Published by Gabrielle Lord-Klein

Founder & Writer