Hawkeyes Crown 6 National Champions and Take Home the Team Title
SOURCE: hawkeyesports.com
March 09, 2024

 


CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The second-ranked University of Iowa women's wrestling team finished the 2024 National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Tournament with six champions and 12 All-Americans. The Hawkeyes brought home the team title with 204 total points.

At 101, the Hawkeye pair of No. 1 Emilie Gonzalez and No. 2 Sterling Dias faced off in the championship bout. The two fought all the way to the end, keeping it a close matchup the whole six minutes. In the end, Gonzalez came out on top with a 4-0 decision, earning the first national title for the program.

Second-ranked Ava Bayless followed, also keeping a close match against Lock Haven's No. 4 Kaelani Shufeldt. The redshirt freshman brought home her first title after defeating Shufeldt via decision, 2-, at 109.

Hawkeyes met again for an all-Iowa finals match at 116, with No. 3 Brianna Gonzalez facing No. 4 Felicity Taylor. With a tough battle back and forth, Taylor capped off her senior season with the title, defeating Gonzalez via decision, 9-2.

At 143, second-ranked Reese Larramendy came out hot in her match against King's No. 6 Aine Drury, picking up the first pin for Iowa in the finals. After running through the tournament finishing every match with a tech. fall, the redshirt freshman decided to finish her season with a fall in 4:10 over Drury.

Defending National Champion, Marlynne Deede captured her second title, and first as a Hawkeye. At 155, the top-ranked senior took the, 9-3, decision over No. 2 Cheyenne Bowman of King.

With Iowa leading by just .5 points as a team, Kylie Welker took it into her own hands to finish the job at 170. Welker shut the door with an, 11-0, tech. fall over No. 2 Yelena Makoyed of North Central to clinch the national title for both herself and the team.

All six national champions also secured a spot at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials next month at Penn State University.

NOTABLES
- The Hawkeyes earned a total of 497 match points. Grossing 25 tech. falls and 18 pins.
- Iowa captured 8 upsets and 28 ranked victories this tournament.
- Triumphant twins: The Gonzalez twins finished their season with a notable combined record of 41-3.
- Kylie Welker earned the most team points in the tournament (28.5).
- Clarissa Chun was named the 2024 NWCA Coach of the Year.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH CLARISSA CHUN
"We're just getting started. In the sense that, our women just grove together, and get closer with each moment, opportunity, they take that. They know what it means to fight for Iowa, and it's an honor to work with them."


Continue to hawkeyesports.com



Comments