Preview: 2020 WCWA National Championships
The 2020 Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) National Championships will take place on Friday and Saturday, February 7th and 8th, in Marietta, Georgia. The tournament carries extra weight this season as it serves as a US Olympic Team Trials qualifier. The champion at each weight class will qualify to participate in the Trials on April 4th-5th in State College, PA.
The tournament is void of the top 3 teams from last season (Menlo, Simon Fraser and McKendree), however, consistently top performing teams bring depth, and new programs add a splash of top-notch young talent.
Currently, Campbellsville holds the top ranking. They are led by returning national champion Abby Nette at 130 pounds and 2019 runner-up McKayla Campbell at 109 pounds. Nette won her title for Emmanuel College last season and is the top seed at 130 again this season. In December, she was crowned the 2019 US Senior Nationals champion. Campbell is at 109 pounds and comes in as the number two seed. Additionally, Head Coach Lee Miracle’s team has the top two seeds at 170 pounds (Kenya Sloan and Mariah Harris).
Campbellsville is fresh off a convincing dual meet win over then-top-ranked Life University. As a result, the Tigers took over the #1 ranking while the national tournament host Life fell to #2. Life boasts the #1 seed at 143 pounds in Erica Sotelo.
Jamestown comes in as the 3rd ranked team and Head Coach Shauna Kemp has proven that she’s more than capable of preparing her wrestlers for big competitions. Nicole Tyson is in her first season at the helm of 4th ranked Oklahoma City. The Stars have two number one seeds in Destiny Lyng at 136 pounds and Nkechinyere Nwankwo at 191 pounds. They will also rely heavily on past Junior World Team member Rachel Watters who is #3 at 155 pounds.
First year program Augsburg is the 5th ranked team and Presbyterian is 6th.
Freshman phenom Emily Shilson from Augsburg is the top seed at 109 pounds. Shilson was the most sought after recruit last season and was able to stay in her home state of Minnesota and compete for the first year program. Shilson was a 2018 Cadet World Champion after winning a silver medal in 2017. She’s also won several age-level Pan Am championships, Fargo “Stop Signs” and has been a mainstay on Cadet, Junior and U23 USA teams.
Shilson’s teammate, and fellow freshman, Vayle Baker earned the top seed at 123 pounds. Baker is also a past age-level world team member and has represented Team USA abroad on several occasions. She will be challenged this weekend by Julia Vidallion (Life) and Macy Higa (Eastern Oregon). Augsburg has another freshman poised to make noise at 130 pounds in Gabby Skidmore who is the #2 seed behind Nette. Skidmore was a Fargo champion and Junior Pan Am silver medalist last summer.
Dany DeAnda’s Presbyterian squad is led by top seeded Jaslynn Gallegos at 116 pounds and #2 seeded freshman Morgan Norris at 143 pounds.
Beyond the top 6 teams, the race will be defined by individual performances.
One of the most accomplished athletes in the tournament is Jayden Laurent (Lakeland). She won the 143-pound title last year and comes in as the top ranked 155-pound athlete this season. Laurent spent the first semester competing at the senior level. She was a member of the 2019 Senior National Team at 65 kg after finishing 3rd place at the World Team Trials. She was also a Junior World Team Member in 2018 and 2019 and Junior Pan Am gold medalist in 2017.
The championships will take place at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia, and will be streamed on Flowrestling.
Session 1: Friday, 9AM ET
Session 2/Pan Am Wrestle-Off Prelims: Saturday, 9AM ET
Pan Am Wrestle-Offs: Saturday, 4PM ET
Finals: Saturday, 6PM ET
Pre-Seeds
101 pounds – 1. Ira Navarro (Southwest Oregon CC); 2. Faye Cherrier (Life); 3. Esthella Trevino (Umpqua CC); 4. Esther Walker (Midland); 5. Kayla Rogers (Big Bend); 6. Trinity Oredina (Tiffin).
109 pounds – 1. Emily Shilson (Augsburg); 2. McKayla Campbell (Campbellsville); 3. Jessica Dehard (Eastern Oregon); 4. Sugey Ceja (Tiffin); 5. Cassy Lopez (Presbyterian); 6. Allicia Mahoe (Schreiner).
116 pounds – 1. Jaslynn Gallegos (Presbyterian); 2. Katlyn Pizzo (Campbellsville); 3. Ashley Goodman (Midland); 4. Jamayia Blackston (Jamestown); 5. Charlotte Fowler (Campbellsville); 6. Aliyah Rollins (Missouri Baptist); 7. Raven Guidry (Oklahoma City); 8. Mikayla Vega (Gannon).
123 pounds – 1. Vayle Baker (Augsburg), 2. Julia Vidallon (Life); 3. Macy Higa (Eastern Oregon); 4. Mariah Annis (Umpqua CC); 5. Adrianna Lopez (Campbellsville); 6. Brittany Woldgast (Adrian); 7. Savannah Stacks (Tiffin); 8. Anmarie Hidalgo (Jamestown).
130 pounds – 1. Abigail Nette (Campbellsville); 2. Gabby Skidmore (Augsburg); 3. Alex Enriquez (Life); 4. Aysia Cortez (Life); 5. Arianna Marrufo (Jamestown); 6. Mackenzie Tayerle (Adrian); 7. Mattison Parker (Oklahoma City); 8. Savannah Vold (Augsburg).
136 pounds – 1. Destiny Lyng (Oklahoma City); 2. Zoe Nowicki (Adrian); 3. Jacqueline Parks (Jamestown); 4. Aliyah Yates (Big Bend); 5. Randi Robison (Campbellsville); 6. Sophia Carson (Campbellsville); 7. Desiree Estrada (Jamestown); 8. Adelyhda Perez (Presbyterian).
143 pounds – 1. Erica Sotelo (Life); 2. Morgan Norris (Presbyterian); 3. Sydney Freund (Oklahoma City); 4. Erin Redford (Eastern Oregon); 5. Andrea Prince (Jamestown); 6. Grace Miller (Umpqua CC); 7. Adrianna Orozco (Southwest Oregon CC); 8. Brighton Hutton (Missouri Baptist).
155 pounds – 1. Jayden Laurent (Lakeland); 2. Myranda Valasquez (Jamestown); 3. Rachel Watters (Oklahoma City); 4. Alexia Foca (Campbellsville); 5. Sierra Talmadge (Jamestown); 6. Destinee Rivera (Life); 7. Annabelle Helm (Gannon); 8. Marlynne Deede (Augsburg).
170 pounds – 1. Kenya Sloan (Campbellsville); 2. Mariah Harris (Campbellsville); 3. Alyssa Schrull (Jamestown); 4. Jordan Nelson (Life); 5. Jae Piper (Umpqua CC); 6. Amara Devericks (Gannon); 7. Nesa Martinez (Jamestown); 8. Samantha Cushard (Adrian).
191 pounds – 1. Nkechinyere Nwankwo (Oklahoma City); 2. Leilani Camargo-Naone (Midland); 3. Alexandra Castillo (Campbellsville); 4. Gabrielle Hamilton (Life); 5. Agatha Andrews (Jamestown); 6. Kendall McGarity (Gannon); 7. Liiana Vergara (Campbellsville); 8. Jessie Lee (Tiffin).
