Returning champs Blades, Mortimer, Dias, Brown advance to 16U Women’s Freestyle National finals
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Returning champion Kennedy Blades of Illinois had three first-period technical falls to reach the finals. Photo by John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com
FARGO, N.D. – Four returning champions won their semifinal matches and advanced to Sunday’s championship finals at the 2019 16U National Championships in women’s freestyle at the Fargodome.
Returning 16U National women’s freestyle champions in the gold-medal round are Sterling Dias of Nevada (94), Sage Mortimer of Utah (100), Kennedy Blades of Illinois (164) and Olivia Brown of Oklahoma (200). Dias, Blades and Brown are all ranked No. 1 in the National Girls High School rankings, and Mortimer is ranked No. 2.
Blades won all her matches with first-period technical falls. She stopped Abbie Aney of Washington, 10-0 in 28 seconds in the preliminaries, Shayna Kamaka of Hawaii, 10-0 in 26 seconds in the quarterfinals and Alivia White of Washington, 10-0 in 1:03 in the semifinals. Blades will face Haley Ward of Missouri in the finals.
Mortimer was equally dominant, scoring three technical falls and a pin, including a 13-2 technical fall over Karina Vang of California in the semifinals. Mortimer has drawn Shea Reisel of Illinois in the finals. Last year, Mortimer was a three-time All-American in Fargo, with national medals in 16U women, Junior women and Junior Greco-Roman.
Dias barely escaped her quarterfinals bout against No. 18 ranked Heaven Fitch of North Carolina. With the score tied at 4-4 late in the match, and Dias holding criteria, Fitch scored on a counter crotchlift and the bout ended 6-4 for Fitch. Dias’ corner challenged and the jury added two points on the takedown for Dias to tie it at 6-6, giving Dias the victory by criteria. Dias will face Isabella Morales of Washington in the finals. Dias is a past Cadet World medalist for Team USA.
Brown won both of her matches on Saturday, including an 8-0 decision of Millie Peach of Iowa in the semifinals. She drew Isabella Morales of Washington in the finals.
At 117 pounds, two returning champions entered the tournament, and neither was able to advance to the finals. In one of the semifinals, Jennifer Soto of California stopped returning champion Ally Fitzgerald of New York in a 10-0 technical fall. Soto is ranked No. 4 in the nation as a freshman.
In the other half-bracket, the other returning champion, Adriana Dorado-Marin of Colorado, was beaten in the quarterfinals by California’s Katie Gomez by technical fall, 10-0 in the 117-pound quarterfinals. Dorado-Marin is ranked No. 4 in the nation, while Gomez is unranked. Gomez kept up the momentum in the semifinals, defeating Claire Dicugno of Washington, 13-6, setting up an all-California finals for Sunday.
Only one of the returning 16U women’s freestyle runners-up has advanced to the finals, Sara Sulejmani of Illinois, who will face Reese Larramendy of Nevada in the finals at 138.
It was a good day for the girls wrestling team at Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, which serves as an elite women’s developmental program for USA Wrestling. The Blades sisters, Kennedy at 164 and her sister Korina at 127 are in the finals, as well as Reese Larramendy at 138.
The 16U Nationals for women had a record 360 entries, up 102 from last year. There were 41 different states, which is three more than a year ago. With the increased numbers was also an increase in skill and intensity in each weight class.
The depth of the tournament was apparent after three returning 16U National runners-up were defeated in the quarterfinals, Charlotte Kouyoumtjian of California (122), Lily Sherer of Pennsylvania (132), Sydney Manos of Illinois (144). One other returning 16U National runner-up was beaten in the semifinals, Ava Bayless of Pennsylvania (106).
In the team race, returning champion California had a strong day and led the field with X points, having pushed five women into the finals, with a total of X earning All-American honors. Illinois is currently in second with five finalists of their own, and a total of X All-Americans. Missouri has four finalists, and is in third place. The only other states with more than one finalist are Orengon and Nevada with two. The consolation finals were held on Saturday, determining all of the medal matches.
The championship finals will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday live on FloWrestling.
USMC 16U WOMEN’S FREESTYLE NATIONALS
At Fargo, N.D., July 13, 2019
Finals pairings
94 - Sterling Dias (Nevada) vs. Isabella Morales (Washington)
100 - Sage Mortimer (Utah) vs. Shea Reisel (Illinois)
106 - Faith Cole (Missouri) vs. Alexis Janiak (Illinois)
112 - Arieana Arias (California) vs. Amani Jones (Georgia)
117 - Katie Gomez (California) vs. Jennifer Soto (California)
122 - Sofia Macaluso (New York) vs. Kelly Escamilla (California)
127 - Haley Ward (Missouri) vs. Korina Blades (Illinois)
132 - Nonnie Justice (Missouri) vs. Maddie Kubicki (Missouri)
138 - Reese Larramendy (Nevada) vs. Sara Sulejmani (Illinois)
144 - Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) vs. Kayley Rada (Michigan)
152 - Hannah Ricioli (California) vs. Dakota-Marie Dinielli (Connecticut)
164 - Kennedy Blades (Illinois) vs. Dasia Yearby (South Carolina)
180 - Brianna Staebler (Wisconsin) vs. Brittyn Corbishley (Texas)
200 - Olivia Brown (Oklahoma) vs. Raina Herzog (Oregon)
Semifinal results
94 pounds
Sterling Dias (Nevada) tech. fall Eva Diaz (Florida), 11-1, 2:20
Isabella Morales (Washington) dec. Alexandra Szkotnicki (Maryland), 4-2
100 pounds
Sage Mortimer (Utah) tech. fall Karina Vang (California), 13-2, 1:11
Shea Reisel (Illinois) dec. Logan Farnsworth (Rhode Island), 10-8
106 pounds
Faith Cole (Missouri) tech. fall Ava Bayless (Pennsylvania), 14-2 2:45
Alexis Janiak (Illinois) tech. fall Julianne Moccia (Maryland), 10-0, 2:50
112 pounds
Arieana Arias (California) dec.Torieonna Buchanan (Indiana), 12-9
Amani Jones (Georgia) tech. fall Lexy Beadles (California), 10-0 1:39
117 pounds
Katie Gomez (California) dec. Claire Dicugno (Washington), 13-6
Jennifer Soto (California) tech. fall Ally Fitzgerald (New York), 10-0 2:21
122 pounds
Sofia Macaluso (New York) pin Cayden Condit (Colorado), 1:44
Kelly Escamilla (California) pin Jaclyn Dehney (New Hampshire), 1:33
127 pounds
Haley Ward (Missouri) dec. Devin Patton (Texas), 6-0
Korina Blades (Illinois) tech. fall London Houston (Washington), 13-2, 2:23
132 pounds
Nonnie Justice (Missouri) pin Anna Krause (New Hampshire), 3:15
Maddie Kubicki (Missouri) tech. fall Elleni Johnson (Utah), 10-0, 2:00
138 pounds
Reese Larramendy (Nevada) dec. Annie n. Hua (California), 8-0
Sara Sulejmani (Illinois) dec. Esther Han (Missouri), 9-5
144 pounds
Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) tech. fall Ella Nichols (Connecticut), 13-1, 2:26
Kayley Rada (Michigan) dec. Ayala Wolak (Ohio), 6-4
152 pounds
Hannah Ricioli (California) tech. fall Mariyah Casados (California), 12-0, 2:23
Dakota-Marie Dinielli (Connecticut) inj. dft. Abigail Bolling (Missouri), 2:00
164 pounds
Kennedy Blades (Illinois) tech. fall Alivia White (Washington), 10-0, 1:03
Dasia Yearby (South Carolina) VPO1 Alyssa Arana (California), 6-3
180 pounds
Brianna Staebler (Wisconsin) dec. Riley Dempewolf (Indiana), 3-0
Brittyn Corbishley (Texas) pin Kailyn Garrett (Michigan), 2:00
200 pounds
Olivia Brown (Oklahoma) dec. Millie Peach (Iowa), 8-0
Raina Herzog (Oregon) pin Sujeydy Matos (New York), 0:49
National rankings of 16U finalists
No. 1 at 100 – Sterling Dias (Nevada) – in 94 pound finals
No. 1 at 164 – Kennedy Blades (Illinois) – in 164 pound finals
No. 1 at 200 – Olivia Brown (Oklahoma) – in 200 pound finals
No 2 at 100 – Sage Mortimer (Utah) – in 100 pound finals
No. 2 at 180 – Brianna Staebler (Wisconsin) – in 180 pound finals
No. 4 at 117 – Jennifer Soto (California) – in 117 pound finals
No. 6 at 112 – Amani Jones (Georgia) – in 112 pound finals
No. 8 at 144 – Sara Sulejmani (Illinois) – in 138 pound finals
No. 8 at 127 – Korina Blades (Illinois) – in 127 pound finals
No. 9 at 106 – Alexis Janiak (Illinois) – 106 pound finals
No. 9 at 138 – Reece Larramendy (Nevada) – in 132 pound finals
No. 10 at 106 – Faith Cole (Missouri) – in 106 pound finals
No. 10 at 127 – Sofia Macaluso (New York) –in 127 pound finals
No. 12 at 180 – Brittyn Corbishley (Texas) – in 180 pound finals
No. 13 at 100 – Isabella Morales (Washington) – in 94 pound finals
No. 14 at 122 – Kelly Escamilla (California) – in 127 pound finals
No. 16 at 127 – Nonie Justice (Missouri) – in 132 pound finals
No. 16 at 152 – Hannah Ricioli (California) – in 153 pound finals
No. 16 at 164 – Dasia Yearby (South Carolina) – in 164 pound finals
FARGO, N.D. – Four returning champions won their semifinal matches and advanced to Sunday’s championship finals at the 2019 16U National Championships in women’s freestyle at the Fargodome.
Returning 16U National women’s freestyle champions in the gold-medal round are Sterling Dias of Nevada (94), Sage Mortimer of Utah (100), Kennedy Blades of Illinois (164) and Olivia Brown of Oklahoma (200). Dias, Blades and Brown are all ranked No. 1 in the National Girls High School rankings, and Mortimer is ranked No. 2.
Blades won all her matches with first-period technical falls. She stopped Abbie Aney of Washington, 10-0 in 28 seconds in the preliminaries, Shayna Kamaka of Hawaii, 10-0 in 26 seconds in the quarterfinals and Alivia White of Washington, 10-0 in 1:03 in the semifinals. Blades will face Haley Ward of Missouri in the finals.
Mortimer was equally dominant, scoring three technical falls and a pin, including a 13-2 technical fall over Karina Vang of California in the semifinals. Mortimer has drawn Shea Reisel of Illinois in the finals. Last year, Mortimer was a three-time All-American in Fargo, with national medals in 16U women, Junior women and Junior Greco-Roman.
Dias barely escaped her quarterfinals bout against No. 18 ranked Heaven Fitch of North Carolina. With the score tied at 4-4 late in the match, and Dias holding criteria, Fitch scored on a counter crotchlift and the bout ended 6-4 for Fitch. Dias’ corner challenged and the jury added two points on the takedown for Dias to tie it at 6-6, giving Dias the victory by criteria. Dias will face Isabella Morales of Washington in the finals. Dias is a past Cadet World medalist for Team USA.
Brown won both of her matches on Saturday, including an 8-0 decision of Millie Peach of Iowa in the semifinals. She drew Isabella Morales of Washington in the finals.
At 117 pounds, two returning champions entered the tournament, and neither was able to advance to the finals. In one of the semifinals, Jennifer Soto of California stopped returning champion Ally Fitzgerald of New York in a 10-0 technical fall. Soto is ranked No. 4 in the nation as a freshman.
In the other half-bracket, the other returning champion, Adriana Dorado-Marin of Colorado, was beaten in the quarterfinals by California’s Katie Gomez by technical fall, 10-0 in the 117-pound quarterfinals. Dorado-Marin is ranked No. 4 in the nation, while Gomez is unranked. Gomez kept up the momentum in the semifinals, defeating Claire Dicugno of Washington, 13-6, setting up an all-California finals for Sunday.
Only one of the returning 16U women’s freestyle runners-up has advanced to the finals, Sara Sulejmani of Illinois, who will face Reese Larramendy of Nevada in the finals at 138.
It was a good day for the girls wrestling team at Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, which serves as an elite women’s developmental program for USA Wrestling. The Blades sisters, Kennedy at 164 and her sister Korina at 127 are in the finals, as well as Reese Larramendy at 138.
The 16U Nationals for women had a record 360 entries, up 102 from last year. There were 41 different states, which is three more than a year ago. With the increased numbers was also an increase in skill and intensity in each weight class.
The depth of the tournament was apparent after three returning 16U National runners-up were defeated in the quarterfinals, Charlotte Kouyoumtjian of California (122), Lily Sherer of Pennsylvania (132), Sydney Manos of Illinois (144). One other returning 16U National runner-up was beaten in the semifinals, Ava Bayless of Pennsylvania (106).
In the team race, returning champion California had a strong day and led the field with X points, having pushed five women into the finals, with a total of X earning All-American honors. Illinois is currently in second with five finalists of their own, and a total of X All-Americans. Missouri has four finalists, and is in third place. The only other states with more than one finalist are Orengon and Nevada with two. The consolation finals were held on Saturday, determining all of the medal matches.
The championship finals will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday live on FloWrestling.
USMC 16U WOMEN’S FREESTYLE NATIONALS
At Fargo, N.D., July 13, 2019
Finals pairings
94 - Sterling Dias (Nevada) vs. Isabella Morales (Washington)
100 - Sage Mortimer (Utah) vs. Shea Reisel (Illinois)
106 - Faith Cole (Missouri) vs. Alexis Janiak (Illinois)
112 - Arieana Arias (California) vs. Amani Jones (Georgia)
117 - Katie Gomez (California) vs. Jennifer Soto (California)
122 - Sofia Macaluso (New York) vs. Kelly Escamilla (California)
127 - Haley Ward (Missouri) vs. Korina Blades (Illinois)
132 - Nonnie Justice (Missouri) vs. Maddie Kubicki (Missouri)
138 - Reese Larramendy (Nevada) vs. Sara Sulejmani (Illinois)
144 - Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) vs. Kayley Rada (Michigan)
152 - Hannah Ricioli (California) vs. Dakota-Marie Dinielli (Connecticut)
164 - Kennedy Blades (Illinois) vs. Dasia Yearby (South Carolina)
180 - Brianna Staebler (Wisconsin) vs. Brittyn Corbishley (Texas)
200 - Olivia Brown (Oklahoma) vs. Raina Herzog (Oregon)
Semifinal results
94 pounds
Sterling Dias (Nevada) tech. fall Eva Diaz (Florida), 11-1, 2:20
Isabella Morales (Washington) dec. Alexandra Szkotnicki (Maryland), 4-2
100 pounds
Sage Mortimer (Utah) tech. fall Karina Vang (California), 13-2, 1:11
Shea Reisel (Illinois) dec. Logan Farnsworth (Rhode Island), 10-8
106 pounds
Faith Cole (Missouri) tech. fall Ava Bayless (Pennsylvania), 14-2 2:45
Alexis Janiak (Illinois) tech. fall Julianne Moccia (Maryland), 10-0, 2:50
112 pounds
Arieana Arias (California) dec.Torieonna Buchanan (Indiana), 12-9
Amani Jones (Georgia) tech. fall Lexy Beadles (California), 10-0 1:39
117 pounds
Katie Gomez (California) dec. Claire Dicugno (Washington), 13-6
Jennifer Soto (California) tech. fall Ally Fitzgerald (New York), 10-0 2:21
122 pounds
Sofia Macaluso (New York) pin Cayden Condit (Colorado), 1:44
Kelly Escamilla (California) pin Jaclyn Dehney (New Hampshire), 1:33
127 pounds
Haley Ward (Missouri) dec. Devin Patton (Texas), 6-0
Korina Blades (Illinois) tech. fall London Houston (Washington), 13-2, 2:23
132 pounds
Nonnie Justice (Missouri) pin Anna Krause (New Hampshire), 3:15
Maddie Kubicki (Missouri) tech. fall Elleni Johnson (Utah), 10-0, 2:00
138 pounds
Reese Larramendy (Nevada) dec. Annie n. Hua (California), 8-0
Sara Sulejmani (Illinois) dec. Esther Han (Missouri), 9-5
144 pounds
Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) tech. fall Ella Nichols (Connecticut), 13-1, 2:26
Kayley Rada (Michigan) dec. Ayala Wolak (Ohio), 6-4
152 pounds
Hannah Ricioli (California) tech. fall Mariyah Casados (California), 12-0, 2:23
Dakota-Marie Dinielli (Connecticut) inj. dft. Abigail Bolling (Missouri), 2:00
164 pounds
Kennedy Blades (Illinois) tech. fall Alivia White (Washington), 10-0, 1:03
Dasia Yearby (South Carolina) VPO1 Alyssa Arana (California), 6-3
180 pounds
Brianna Staebler (Wisconsin) dec. Riley Dempewolf (Indiana), 3-0
Brittyn Corbishley (Texas) pin Kailyn Garrett (Michigan), 2:00
200 pounds
Olivia Brown (Oklahoma) dec. Millie Peach (Iowa), 8-0
Raina Herzog (Oregon) pin Sujeydy Matos (New York), 0:49
National rankings of 16U finalists
No. 1 at 100 – Sterling Dias (Nevada) – in 94 pound finals
No. 1 at 164 – Kennedy Blades (Illinois) – in 164 pound finals
No. 1 at 200 – Olivia Brown (Oklahoma) – in 200 pound finals
No 2 at 100 – Sage Mortimer (Utah) – in 100 pound finals
No. 2 at 180 – Brianna Staebler (Wisconsin) – in 180 pound finals
No. 4 at 117 – Jennifer Soto (California) – in 117 pound finals
No. 6 at 112 – Amani Jones (Georgia) – in 112 pound finals
No. 8 at 144 – Sara Sulejmani (Illinois) – in 138 pound finals
No. 8 at 127 – Korina Blades (Illinois) – in 127 pound finals
No. 9 at 106 – Alexis Janiak (Illinois) – 106 pound finals
No. 9 at 138 – Reece Larramendy (Nevada) – in 132 pound finals
No. 10 at 106 – Faith Cole (Missouri) – in 106 pound finals
No. 10 at 127 – Sofia Macaluso (New York) –in 127 pound finals
No. 12 at 180 – Brittyn Corbishley (Texas) – in 180 pound finals
No. 13 at 100 – Isabella Morales (Washington) – in 94 pound finals
No. 14 at 122 – Kelly Escamilla (California) – in 127 pound finals
No. 16 at 127 – Nonie Justice (Missouri) – in 132 pound finals
No. 16 at 152 – Hannah Ricioli (California) – in 153 pound finals
No. 16 at 164 – Dasia Yearby (South Carolina) – in 164 pound finals
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