Women's Wrestling Claims First Regional Title as Eight Soaring Eagles Advance to Nationals
— Elmira College Athletics (@ECSoaringEagles) February 24, 2025
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PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – The Elmira College women's wrestling program captured its first regional championship as the Soaring Eagles outscored Sacred Heart University 154-152 in the team standings on Sunday at the 2025 NCWWC Region I Championships at the Murray Athletic Center
The Soaring Eagles had a record eight national qualifiers and 10 regional placers as Elmira featured seven wrestlers in the finals on Sunday, with Abby Duke '26, Gabby Bradigan '26, Zoey Lints '27, and Tayana Labady '25 winning regional titles for EC.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira – 1st (154 points) – 10 individual place winners – 8 national qualifiers
LOCATION: Pine Valley, New York | Elmira College's Murray Athletic Center
INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS: Duke (1st – 110 lbs.), Bradigan (1st – 138 lbs.), Lints (1st – 145 lbs.), Labady (1st – 207 lbs.), Retell (2nd – 131 lbs.), Chakouian (2nd – 160 lbs.), Dahlquist (2nd – 180 lbs.), Edwards (4th – 24 lbs.), Rodriguez (5th – 103 lbs.), Robles (5th – 145lbs.)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Abby Duke '26 will make her second trip to nationals after defeating Izabella Frezzo from New Jersey City University in the finals at 110 pounds via a 5-3 decision. Duke opened her day in the quarterfinals with a pin and followed with a 10-0 tech fall against Lauren Nguyen from Sacred Heart.
Gabby Bradigan '26 makes her second trip to nationals for the Purple & Gold after securing a pin in the finals at 138 pounds against Tanya Teneva from Western New England. Bradigan finished her day with three pins as she bested Kendall Branchaud in the quarterfinals and Alessandra Elliott in the semifinals.
All-American Zoey Lints '27 notched three pins on the way to her second consecutive regional title for the Soaring Eagles. Competing at 145 pounds, Lints pinned Sacred Heart's Temi Sanusi in the finals. Lints needed just 12 seconds for the pin to win her quarterfinal match and 41 seconds in her semifinal bout.
Tayana Labady '25 heads back to nationals for a third time as a member of the Purple & Gold. Labady opened her title run at 207 pounds with a pair of pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals before matching up against Sacred Heart's Madeline Hodges in the finals. Labady rebounded from an early 1-0 deficit to score the final three points of the match to punch her ticket.
All-American Skylah Chakouian '25 continued to etch her name into the record books at Elmira as she notched her 100th career win on Sunday, along with punching her ticket to her fourth national tournament for the Soaring Eagles. Chakouian notched a pin in the quarterfinals and followed with a tech fall to advance to the title bout at 160 pounds. Chakouian would come up short against Sacred Heart's Love Daley via a 15-2 tech fall in the finals.
Hazel Dahlquist '25 will return to the national tournament for a second time for the Purple & Gold after finishing second at 180 pounds. Dahlquist opened her tournament with a pin in the quarterfinals and followed with another pin in the semifinals against Shalom Lopez from Western New England. She would be matched against Madison Sandquist in the finals, with Sandquist recording a pin.
First-year wrestler Ragan Retell '28 punched her ticket to nationals after battling to the title match at 131 pounds for the Soaring Eagles. Retell used a tech fall to advance to the quarterfinals, where she pinned Jaden Coppins to advance to the semifinals. She notched her second pin of the day to defeat Elleahna Anderson from Sacred Heart to face undefeated Jaclyn Dehney in the finals. Dehney recorded a pin in 1:06 to secure the win.
Megan Edwards, '27, battled through the consolation bracket to place fourth at 124 pounds and secure her first trip to nationals for Elmira. Edwards rattled off four consolation wins, including three straight pins, to set up a match against Alexandra Fitzgerald in the third-place bout. Edwards would drop a 10-0 tech fall against Fitzgerald but rallied to defeat Cailan Drake from Sacred Heart in the consi-semifinals after Drake pinned Edwards in the opening round.
First-year wrestler Talia Robles '28 would advance to the consi-semifinals at 145 pounds and come up just short of appearing in the third-place bout after being pinned by Tayla Tildsley from Sacred Heart. Robles dropped her quarterfinal bout but responded with a consolation bracket win against Kari Tejeda via a pin. Robles recorded a fifth-place finish after taking a forfeit in the bout against Noelle Alexander from Western New England.
First-year wrestler Joycedeliz Rodriguez Santiago '28 placed fifth for the Soaring Eagles at 103 pounds. Rodriguez would fall in the opening round via a tech fall before dropping another tech fall in the consi-semifinals.
UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold travel to Coralville, Iowa, for the 2025 NCWWC National Championships, as the two-day event will be held on March 7-8, 2025, at the Xtream Arena.