#WomensWednesday: This weekend’s Missouri Valley Open is a huge test in women’s college wrestling
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Action image courtesy of Missouri Valley College Athletics
As women’s college wrestling continues its rapid growth and change, there are some things which remain constant. For instance, the Missouri Valley Open has been and remains one of the toughest competitions each year in women’s college wrestling.
This year’s event is set for this Sunday, November 17, and will feature as many as 35 teams, from all over the nation, including many top powers from both the NAIA and the NCAA. It will be a very good indicator for what teams and individual athletes will do damage in the season ahead.
“It will be a big event. We will have a lot of NCAA and NAIA teams this year. We have teams from the West Coast, the East Coast and the middle of the country,” said Carl Murphree, head coach at Missouri Valley College.
Some individual stars from these college teams may skip the Missouri Valley Open to enter the Bill Farrell Memorial International, which is an Olympic Team Trials qualifying event. But even with some college athletes in New York City, the field at Missouri Valley will be absolutely loaded.
The No. 1 team in the nation last year, Menlo College, will travel from California to compete in Missouri. Last season, Menlo won the team titles at both the WCWA Nationals and the first NAIA National Invitational.
NCAA school McKendree may have one of its best teams ever this season and will be competing. Campbellsville, a NAIA school which won a WCWA title in 2018, is among the teams competing. King, an NCAA school which has won four WCWA team titles, and Oklahoma City, a NAIA institution which has won four WCWA national titles, are in the field.
Of the top 10 teams from the 2019 WCWA Nationals, nine will be in this event: 1) Menlo, 3) McKendree, 4) Emmanuel, 5) King, 6) Campbellsville, 7) Oklahoma City, 8) Wayland Baptist, 9) Univ. of the Cumberlands; 10) Jamestown.
Of the top 10 teams from the 2019 NAIA National Invitational, nine will be in this event: 1) Menlo, 2) Oklahoma City, 3) Jamestown, 4) Campbellsville, 5) Univ. of the Cumberlands, 6) Wayland Baptist, 7) Life, 8) Southern Oregon, 9) Midland.
“It has always been a pre-national tournament type of field. There are a lot of great wrestlers and great teams. In recent years, it has been the biggest open tournament of the year,” said McKendree head coach Sam Schmitz.
Included in the field will be first-year women’s college programs Augsburg, Central Methodist, Fontbonne, North Central and Wisconsin Stevens-Point.
“For young wrestlers, it is a test of if you are ready for college wrestling. We use it for that. Many of the younger wrestlers haven’t been exposed to college wrestling or an event like this. It is also a showcase for college wrestling fans of a lot of girls they have never heard of. In women’s college wrestling, there are a lot of wrestlers who are tough, who win tournaments and win big matches. You will see some names of kids who are out there wrestling well. It is a chance for them to show off their stuff,” said Schmitz.
Host Missouri Valley College is one of the pioneer programs in women’s wrestling, starting its team in the 1990s, long before most of the programs in the tournament this weekend. The team won women’s college national team titles in 2004 and 2005. MVC has placed numerous athletes on past U.S. National Teams including 2012 Olympic medalist and 2008 World champion Clarissa Chun and 2019 World champion Jacarra Winchester.
It also has hosted strong women’s wrestling tournaments for almost two decades. The Missouri Valley International was hosted there for a few years in the early 2000, which later became the Missouri Valley Showcase and evolved into the current Missouri Valley Open.
“The facility really helps. We can run a lot of mats and still not feel crowded. We are running six mats this Sunday and could run more mats if we needed to. It is a comfortable place. It is a friendly event but also very competitive,” said Murphree.
Like all of the teams travelling to Missouri Valley, Murphree is looking forward to seeing where his athletes and team stack up against top competitors.
“We have a returning All-American, who we want to see how she does. She has not wrestled a lot of NCAA schools this year. We have some promising freshman who we hope will break into the medal rounds,” said Murphree.
Murphree, who has coached a dozen years at Missouri Valley College, has seen the growth of this tournament, as well as the rapid growth of the sport for women. As the sport grows, the quality of the competition continues to advance. In addition, the incoming freshmen athletes are coming in with more experience and skills than ever before.
“You see it at events these days. Usually there wouldn’t be too many tough matches until you get deeper into the rounds. We are seeing good wrestling in every match now, even at smaller tournaments,” said Murphree.
With so many more teams in women’s college wrestling, talent is being spread all over the nation, and individual athletes have much more choice when deciding where to go to college.
“It is great for the girls. They have better academic options. They can find a school that fits them better and a coaching staff that fits them better. It is a big plus for the female athletes coming up,” Murphree said.
Fans can follow the results on Trackwrestling.
Teams Expected at 2019 Missouri Valley Open
NAIA Teams: Brewton-Parker, Campbellsville, Central Methodist, Univ. of the Cumberlands, Eastern Oregon, Fontbonne, Grand View, Jamestown, Life, Lyon, Menlo, Midland, Missouri Valley, Oklahoma City, Ottawa, Providence, Saint Mary, Southern Oregon, Wayland Baptist, York
NCAA Teams: Adrian, Augsburg, Colorado Mesa, Emmanuel, Gannon, King, Lakeland, Lindenwood, MacMurray, McKendree, North Central, Tiffin, Wisconsin-Stevens Point
As women’s college wrestling continues its rapid growth and change, there are some things which remain constant. For instance, the Missouri Valley Open has been and remains one of the toughest competitions each year in women’s college wrestling.
This year’s event is set for this Sunday, November 17, and will feature as many as 35 teams, from all over the nation, including many top powers from both the NAIA and the NCAA. It will be a very good indicator for what teams and individual athletes will do damage in the season ahead.
“It will be a big event. We will have a lot of NCAA and NAIA teams this year. We have teams from the West Coast, the East Coast and the middle of the country,” said Carl Murphree, head coach at Missouri Valley College.
Some individual stars from these college teams may skip the Missouri Valley Open to enter the Bill Farrell Memorial International, which is an Olympic Team Trials qualifying event. But even with some college athletes in New York City, the field at Missouri Valley will be absolutely loaded.
The No. 1 team in the nation last year, Menlo College, will travel from California to compete in Missouri. Last season, Menlo won the team titles at both the WCWA Nationals and the first NAIA National Invitational.
NCAA school McKendree may have one of its best teams ever this season and will be competing. Campbellsville, a NAIA school which won a WCWA title in 2018, is among the teams competing. King, an NCAA school which has won four WCWA team titles, and Oklahoma City, a NAIA institution which has won four WCWA national titles, are in the field.
Of the top 10 teams from the 2019 WCWA Nationals, nine will be in this event: 1) Menlo, 3) McKendree, 4) Emmanuel, 5) King, 6) Campbellsville, 7) Oklahoma City, 8) Wayland Baptist, 9) Univ. of the Cumberlands; 10) Jamestown.
Of the top 10 teams from the 2019 NAIA National Invitational, nine will be in this event: 1) Menlo, 2) Oklahoma City, 3) Jamestown, 4) Campbellsville, 5) Univ. of the Cumberlands, 6) Wayland Baptist, 7) Life, 8) Southern Oregon, 9) Midland.
“It has always been a pre-national tournament type of field. There are a lot of great wrestlers and great teams. In recent years, it has been the biggest open tournament of the year,” said McKendree head coach Sam Schmitz.
Included in the field will be first-year women’s college programs Augsburg, Central Methodist, Fontbonne, North Central and Wisconsin Stevens-Point.
“For young wrestlers, it is a test of if you are ready for college wrestling. We use it for that. Many of the younger wrestlers haven’t been exposed to college wrestling or an event like this. It is also a showcase for college wrestling fans of a lot of girls they have never heard of. In women’s college wrestling, there are a lot of wrestlers who are tough, who win tournaments and win big matches. You will see some names of kids who are out there wrestling well. It is a chance for them to show off their stuff,” said Schmitz.
Host Missouri Valley College is one of the pioneer programs in women’s wrestling, starting its team in the 1990s, long before most of the programs in the tournament this weekend. The team won women’s college national team titles in 2004 and 2005. MVC has placed numerous athletes on past U.S. National Teams including 2012 Olympic medalist and 2008 World champion Clarissa Chun and 2019 World champion Jacarra Winchester.
It also has hosted strong women’s wrestling tournaments for almost two decades. The Missouri Valley International was hosted there for a few years in the early 2000, which later became the Missouri Valley Showcase and evolved into the current Missouri Valley Open.
“The facility really helps. We can run a lot of mats and still not feel crowded. We are running six mats this Sunday and could run more mats if we needed to. It is a comfortable place. It is a friendly event but also very competitive,” said Murphree.
Like all of the teams travelling to Missouri Valley, Murphree is looking forward to seeing where his athletes and team stack up against top competitors.
“We have a returning All-American, who we want to see how she does. She has not wrestled a lot of NCAA schools this year. We have some promising freshman who we hope will break into the medal rounds,” said Murphree.
Murphree, who has coached a dozen years at Missouri Valley College, has seen the growth of this tournament, as well as the rapid growth of the sport for women. As the sport grows, the quality of the competition continues to advance. In addition, the incoming freshmen athletes are coming in with more experience and skills than ever before.
“You see it at events these days. Usually there wouldn’t be too many tough matches until you get deeper into the rounds. We are seeing good wrestling in every match now, even at smaller tournaments,” said Murphree.
With so many more teams in women’s college wrestling, talent is being spread all over the nation, and individual athletes have much more choice when deciding where to go to college.
“It is great for the girls. They have better academic options. They can find a school that fits them better and a coaching staff that fits them better. It is a big plus for the female athletes coming up,” Murphree said.
Fans can follow the results on Trackwrestling.
Teams Expected at 2019 Missouri Valley Open
NAIA Teams: Brewton-Parker, Campbellsville, Central Methodist, Univ. of the Cumberlands, Eastern Oregon, Fontbonne, Grand View, Jamestown, Life, Lyon, Menlo, Midland, Missouri Valley, Oklahoma City, Ottawa, Providence, Saint Mary, Southern Oregon, Wayland Baptist, York
NCAA Teams: Adrian, Augsburg, Colorado Mesa, Emmanuel, Gannon, King, Lakeland, Lindenwood, MacMurray, McKendree, North Central, Tiffin, Wisconsin-Stevens Point
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