SOU women claim first NAIA national title
Published 8:17 pm Saturday, March 11, 2023
- RAIDERSlogo
JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Eight years after joining the NAIA, Southern Oregon University is on top of the conference in women’s wrestling.
Trending
After a season full of titles, the Raiders celebrated the big one Saturday night at Newman Arena, hoisting the red banner for the first time with a runaway victory and upset of top-ranked Life (Georgia) at the inaugural NAIA Championships. Up by 5.5 points entering Day 2 of the tournament and by 12.5 going into the finals, they sealed the outcome when 123-pounder Carolina Moreno, 143-pound Emily Se and 191-pounder Grace Kristoff won individual championships.
The Raiders finished with 160 points to Life’s 139.5 and third-place Grand View (Iowa)’s 123.5, avenging last year’s runner-up finish at the NAIA Invitational. No other team produced more than a single champion, and SOU had a fourth finalist in 170-pounder Joye Levendusky.
Third-place Esthela Trevino (101 pounds) and fourth-place Natalie Reyna (109) and Bella Amaro (136) gave the Raiders a total of seven All-Americans.
Trending
Under first-year head coach Gabrielle Weyhrich, the Raiders captured NWCA National Duals, Cascade Conference and NAIA titles for the first time. The team championship is the 12th in any sport in SOU athletics history, and the eighth since 2010.
Moreno, a top-seeded sophomore, became the Raiders’ first-ever two-time champ by going back-to-back at 123. She topped off a 26-2 season with a 6-2 win over No. 3 Alana Vivas of Menlo (Calif.) in a rematch of the CCC finals, going up 6-0 in the first period after starting the day with a 10-0 semifinal victory over Menlo’s No. 4 Haley Narahara.
Se finished her dominant campaign at 25-3 and with a 3-2 upset of Grand View’s top-seeded Alexis Gomez in the 143 final. The No. 2-seeded senior, who placed third at 136 a year ago, had three pins and a technical fall on her way to the matchup, opening Saturday’s action with a first-round win by fall against No. 3 seed Emma Walker of Campbellsville (Ky.). Three quick points in the second period gave her the upper-hand on Gomez, who defeated Se in an early January dual match.
As the No. 10 seed at 191, Kristoff pulled off the most remarkable run of any Raiders. The senior knocked off four top-seven seeds during the tournament, and was sitting on a comfortable lead when she pinned No. 5 Jaycee Foeller of Central Methodist (Mo.) with a second to go in their final. After winning by fall against No. 2 Jesse Kirby of Cumberlands (Ky.) to cap Friday’s action in the quarterfinals, she pulled off a 2-1 semifinal upset of Menlo’s No. 3 Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson, who’d pinned her at the CCC Championships. Kristoff ended the season, her first at SOU, with a 22-5 record.
Levendusky’s championship loss to Cumberlands top seed Dymond Guilford was her first of the season against an NAIA opponent. Seeded No. 2 at 170, she scored a 2-1 decision over Grand View’s No. 3 Abby McIntyre in the semifinals before Guilford won the final match by fall in the second round, locking up her third title in four years. Levendusky, who had two first-round pins and a technical fall on Friday, finished at 28-2.
At 101, Trevino, the No. 3 seed, lost to Providence’s No. 2 Erin Hikiji before recovering with back-to-back wins to secure third place — topping No. 11 Kayla McKinley-Johnson of Menlo by technical fall and No. 4 Elizabeth Dosado of Cumberlands by 9-4 decision. She became a two-time All-American at SOU and went 24-5 as a senior.
Amaro, a freshman seeded No. 6, and Reyna, a senior seeded No. 3, were SOU’s sixth and seventh semifinalists. In the consolation semifinals, Amaro upset a No. 5 seed and Reyna beat a No. 8 seed.
A championship parade is planned for Wednesday afternoon.