Mota-Pettis, Valencia, Page and Bruntil to Wrestle at NLWC No. 4

The December 22nd installment of Nittany Lion Wrestling Club events will feature NLWC wrestlers Jane Valencia and Jennifer Page up against their opponents Xochitl Mota-Pettis and Emma Bruntil.

Xochitl Mota-Pettis vs Jane Valencia
Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise Wrestling) made a lot of noise at 57kg this fall. But even just last year there were telltale signs of her progression. In the summer of 2019, Mota-Pettis was the 127-pound Fargo champion. Then in December, she went 4-2 at Senior Nationals where she outwrestled multiple college All-Americans. This October she pinned Alli Ragan, a world silver medalist, in Iowa, and then continued to the finals where she went back and forth with Lauren Louive. 

The last time Mota-Pettis was on the mat was in her run to a U23 title over Abby Nette, the No. 3 ranked wrestler on the Senior National Team. Mota-Pettis wrestled Alexia Ward, an NCWWC Champ, in the semis and sealed that bout with an 8-0 decision. The Texas native was also a finalist in the junior division where she wrestled a contentious match against McKendree’s Cameron Guerin. 

For three consecutive months, Mota-Pettis is competing with prominent names at 57kg. This week she’ll face Jane Valencia (MEX). Valencia—currently training with the NLWC—made history this spring as Mexico’s first Olympic woman wrestler. She defeated Canada’s world champion Linda Morais in the Pan-Am Olympic Qualifier and qualified for the Games at 57kg. On earlier NLWC cards Valencia defeated Julia Salata 6-6 and Vayle Baker 13-2. Valencia was 2nd at the 2015 Pan-Am Games and 3rd at the 2013 Pan-Am Championships.

Emma Bruntil vs Jennifer Page
Emma Bruntil was part of the groundbreaking headline match vs Macey Kilty at the Tar Heel Wrestling Club’s event on December 4th. The pair wrestled the entire six minutes, but Bruntil dropped the rematch 3-0 and they’re now 1-1. It was Bruntil’s first competition back after taking time for surgery and recovery this summer. And, as noted before the match in Chapel Hill, Bruntil’s final tournament performance for the 2019-20 college season culminated in a championship win at the inaugural National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships in March. Bruntil, a sophomore at McKendree, was the 2019 Senior National champion at 62kg. 

NLWC wrestler Jennifer Page (TMWC) remains undefeated this fall. She has recent wins over Macey Kilty and Desiree Zavala. Her last match was highly competitive vs NCAA No. 4 Lauren Mason. The match was back and forth, but Page secured the win by decision, 10-4. Page has been able to win high-level matches by overcoming a point deficit and has been consistent at scoring when it matters.

These two matches will be wrestled alongside the NLWC vs Wolfpack lineup scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 22. Wresting starts at 8 pm EST and will be streamed on Rokfin.