McKenna and Parrish among winners at 2018 NWCA All-Star Classic

DENVER – The 2018 NWCA All-Star Classic helped kick off the NCAA and WCWA college seasons as the night featured five men’s folkstyle matches and five women’s freestyle matches.

Men’s folkstyle
Highlighting the folkstyle portion of the event was an active heavyweight match that starred 2018 All-American Youssif Hemida of Maryland and round of 12-er Derek White of Oklahoma State.

At the end of regulation, the two were knotted, 5-5. In the sudden victory period, White picked up a takedown for a 7-5 win to begin his season with a win over an All-American.

Hemida will be back in action in two weeks as he will compete for the USA at the U23 World Championships in Bucharest, Romania.

At 141 pounds, 2017 U23 World bronze medalist and two-time All-American Joey McKenna of Ohio State prevailed over two-time All-American Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State, who bumped up from 133 pounds.

With McKenna leading only 5-4 after the first period, the Buckeye pulled ahead in the final two periods with a four-point nearfall and an escape. Add riding time and it was an 11-4 decision for McKenna.

“I’m happy with my toughness in that match. It was my first time down to weight,” McKenna said. “I think I did a good job of staying focused. I’m just pleased with the way I kept wrestling.”

After a scoreless first period in the 174-pound bout between Myles Amine of Michigan and Jacobe Smith of Oklahoma State, Amine rattled off 11 points with Smith only producing two points on a reversal.

Amine, a two-time All-American, defeated two-time NJCAA national champion and 2018 All-American Smith with an 11-2 major decision. It was the only bonus-point win in the five folkstyle matches.

At 184 pounds, 2018 All-Americans and sophomores Taylor Venz of Nebraska and Max Dean of Cornell went head-to-head.

Venz controlled the bout, scoring four takedowns, leading to a 10-5 win.

The finale of the night featured hometown favorite Mitch Finesilver of Duke, who is originally from Greenwood Village, Colo., and top-ranked 149-pounder Matt Kolodzik of Princeton, who took third at last year’s NCAAs.

Kolodzik ran out to a fast 9-0 lead, but Finesilver fought his way back, scoring seven points. It was not enough as the Tiger wrestler won the match, 12-7.

Women’s freestyle
One of the premier matchups in the women’s freestyle part of the night was a 2018 WCWA finals rematch as WCWA champion Brittany Marshall of Wayland Baptist took on WCWA runner-up Mariah Harris of Campbellsville at 170 pounds.

Harris and Marshall were tied, 1-1, in the final minute of the match, trading passivity points. With about 30 seconds left on the clock, Marshall, who was on the shot clock for the second time in the match, blasted Harris for a takedown and an eventual 3-1 win.

There were three 2018 U23 Women’s Freestyle World Team members that competed tonight, including Dominique Parrish of Simon Fraser at 123 pounds, Abigail Nette of Emmanuel at 130 pounds and Charlotte Fowler of Campbellsville at 109 pounds.

Parrish and Nette both tallied tech fall wins at the All-Star Classic, with Parrish defeating 2018 WCWA third placer and Dave Schultz Memorial champion Gabriela Ramos-Diaz of Wayland Baptist, 10-0, and Nette claiming a 10-0 shutout over Erika Mihalca of Missouri Baptist.

Parrish and Nette both competed at 123 pounds at last year’s college nationals. Parrish won the weight class, while Nette took third.

Fowler dropped a 12-0 loss to Emmaunel’s Maria Vidales, who is a 2018 WCWA runner-up and finished third at the 2017 WCWA Nationals.

Vidales sealed the win with a four-point takedown right into a gut wrench to put the exclamation point on a dominant performance.

Parrish, Nette and Fowler will travel to Bucharest to compete at the U23 World Championships later this month.

“This is my first time competing since July,” Parrish said. “It’s good to just be out on the mat, giving my all, against someone else who is giving their all. It was good to get that real competition in before going to compete overseas.”

At 143 pounds, WCWA All-American Nicole Joseph of King bumped up from 136 pounds to take on 2016 Junior World bronze medalist and All-American Alexis Porter of McKendree.

It seemed that Joseph had the match won until, within the final seconds, Porter scored on a four-point feet-to-back takedown to claim the win, 6-3.

2018 NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC

at National Western Complex (Denver, Colo.)

Men’s folkstyle
141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State), 11-4
149: Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) dec. Mitch Finesilver (Duke), 12-7
174: Myles Amine (Michigan) MD Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State), 11-2
184: Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec. Max Dean (Cornell), 10-5
285: Derek White (Oklahoma St.) dec. Youssif Hemida (Maryland), 7-5 SV1 

Women’s freestyle
109: Maria Vidales (Emmanuel) tech. fall Charlotte Fowler (Campbellsville), 12-0
123: Dominique Parrish (Simon Fraser) tech. fall Gabriela Ramos-Diaz (Wayland Baptist), 10-0
130: Abby Nette (Emmanuel) tech. fall Erika Mihalca (Missouri Baptist), 10-0
143: Alexis Porter (McKendree) dec. Nicole Joseph (King), 6-3
170: Brittany Marshall (Wayland Baptist) dec. Mariah Harris (Campbellsville), 3-1