A wrap up of senior spotlights—Fargo 2019, finalized.
For high school wrestlers, the freestyle season is almost completely wrapped up. Cadet Worlds are happening right now and Junior Worlds are just two weeks out. This article finalizes our Fargo senior spotlights as we turn our attention toward the collegiate level.
Team Colorado was represented by four seniors. Jerzie Estrada worked through the tournament at 144 pounds with falls and superiorities, losing only in the finals with an incredibly close 8-7 matchup to a fellow senior from Alaska. Jaslynn Gallegos placed 5th as an All-American with a 5-2 tournament at 112 pounds. Jaslynn is headed to South Carolina where she’ll attend Presbyterian College. Faith Herrera wrestled at 117 pounds and Emilee Demann at 144 pounds. Colorado sanctioned girls wrestling in 2019.
Team Wisconsin was represented by five seniors. Gabby Skidmore won six matches in a row to walk away with the championship title at 122 pounds. Gabby will be joining the first-year program at Augsburg University this fall. Josie Bartishofski won her first four matches by superiority and then her fifth by points to capture a spot in the finals. Josie placed second overall at 112 pounds and will be headed to North Dakota where she’ll wrestle at the University of Jamestown under Shauna Kemp. Allie Grobarchik had a 5-2 tournament at 127 pounds. Allie will be studying at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh where she will train at their RTC. Addison Young (132 pounds) will be at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point to kickoff their inaugural year, and Lili Alderson wrestled for team WI at 106 pounds. Wisconsin has not yet sanctioned girls wrestling.
Team Illinois was represented by six seniors. Gabrielle Hamilton won it all, with four of five matches ending in falls. She will be attending Life University in Marietta, Georgia. Asia Nguyen-Smith placed 8th at 127 pounds and will stay in state to join the first year program at North Central College. Randi Robinson went 4-2 at 132 pounds and is headed to Kentucky to wrestle at Campbellsville University. Other Illinois seniors at Fargo included Nateciya Gidron-Noutai (132 pounds), Marissa Vanik (144 pounds) and Emily Hyre (117 pounds). Illinois has not yet sanctioned girls wrestling.
From what we could confirm, California only brought three seniors from the group the state has headed off to college. Angela Buenrrostro placed 2nd at 200 pounds, falling only to fellow senior Gabrielle Hamilton. Angela is headed to Kentucky where she will wrestle at the University of the Cumberlands. Cristina Santoyo placed 3rd overall at 225 pounds; she’ll be headed to Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia. Folashade Akinola (180 pounds) is staying in state to further her career at Menlo College. California sanctioned girls wrestling in 2011.
Tennessee’s Isabella Badon was the lone senior at Fargo this year for TN. She wrestled at 122 pounds and is also headed to Presbyterian College in South Carolina. Tennessee sanctioned girls wrestling in 2014.
Senior reps for Kansas were Anja Tschohl at 117 pounds and Whitney Dugan at 138 pounds. Anja will move to Grand Junction, CO, where she will join the Mavericks at Colorado Mesa University. Kansas sanctioned girls wrestling in 2019.
Pennsylvania had two seniors on their national team. Tatyana Ortiz placed 8th overall at 106 pounds while Bridgette Schoultz wrestled at 127 pounds. Both of these ladies will be attending Delaware Valley University in the fall with the first year program under head coach Caitlyn Baker. Pennsylvania has yet to sanction girls wrestling.
Oklahoma’s Haileigh Marcon wrestled at 144 pounds and will be headed to Ottowa University in Kansas. South Dakota’s senior, Alisha Van Scoy actually represented North Dakota at 132 pounds. North Carolina’s Nikoly Dos Santos wrestled at 106 pounds, and is headed to Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. None of these states have sanctioned girls wrestling.
Florida’s two seniors are both headed to Missouri Baptist University. Shania Gowan placed 8th overall at 180 pounds while teammate Karoline Ortiz wrestled at 127 pounds. Florida has not sanctioned girls wrestling yet.
This series just focused on the ladies that joined their national teams for one last time in Fargo after graduating this spring. We saw some of the each states best wrestlers, but there was a large handful of seniors that did not compete. The college scene is competitive and will only get more so as the sport continues to grow.
As we move into August, our focus is shifting to the collegiate season. What an exciting time to be part of women’s wrestling!
The majority of state sanctioning information was grabbed from Wrestle Like a Girl’s resources page, here.
