WCWA Championship finals set with current vs. former National Team member matchup looming

Photo of 2018 National Team member Rachel Watters by Jim Thrall/ Mat Focus

Marietta, Ga. – Campbellsville University has been dominant at this year’s WCWA Championships. After the dust settled on the semifinal round, CU sent an impressive eight out of eleven semifinalists through to the finals session this evening.

At 101 pounds, unseeded McKenzie Bacich of Campbellsville continued her Cinderella run through the tournament, earning a fall over Esther Walker of Midland University. In the finals, she will face No. 3 Esthela Trevino of Umpqua, who has yet to surrender a point this tournament.

Emily Shilson is one of three freshmen to make the finals for Augsburg University. She will face returning runner-up McKayla Campbell of Campbellsville in the 109 pound finals. Neither wrestler surrendered a point this tournament and both have either pinned or teched every opponent they have faced.

Jaslynn Gallegos of Presbyterian pinned all three opponents she faced at 116 pounds. The top-seeded freshman will take on Katlyn Pizzo of Campbellsville, who also earned pins in all three of her matches.

Vayle-Rae Baker is the second Augsburg freshman to make the finals. She will square off with Julia Vidallon of the host school Life University in the 123 pound finals.

Last year’s Outstanding Wrestler Abby Nette of Campbellsville earned a fall and three technical falls on her way to the 130 pound finals without allowing a point scored against her. She will face Gabby Skidmore, the third Augsburg freshman finalist. Skidmore’s run has been impressive, also going unscored upon.

Aliyah Yates of Big Bend scored a come-from-behind victory over top seeded Jacqueline Parks of Jamestown in the semifinals. Trailing 6-1, Yates countered a shot from Parks, driving her to her back to pick up the fall. She will see No. 3 Zoe Nowicki of Adrian in the 136 pound finals.

No. 2 seed Morgan Norris, another freshman finalist from Presbyterian, looked dominant throughout the tournament, earning two falls and two technical falls without surrendering a point. In the 143 pound finals she will see unseeded Gabrielle Garcia of Campbellsville. Garcia defeated the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds before knocking off No. 1 Erica Sotelo of Life University, 3-1, in the semifinals.

155 pounds features one of the premier matches of the afternoon with returning WCWA champion Jayden Laurent of Lakeland clashing with two-time WCWA All-American Rachel Watters of Oklahoma City. Laurent is currently No. 3 on the National Team at 68 kg, while Watters was No. 2 at 72 kg in 2018. Watters wrestled the majority of the season at 170 pounds, only wrestling one match at 155 pounds before this tournament. Laurent came into the tournament without wrestling a single collegiate match this season,

170 pounds is an all-Campbellsville matchup with Kenya Sloan facing off with teammate Mariah Harris for the title. Sloan defeated Harris in the finals of the Tornado Open this year, 13-3.

No. 5 seed Agatha Andrews advanced to the finals with three pins in three matches. In the semifinals, she trailed No.1 Nkechinyere Nwankwo of Oklahoma City before earning the fall to pull the upset. In the finals she meet No. 2 seed Alexandra Castillo of Campbellsville.

The WCWA finals will start at 6:00 pm and can be streamed live on flowrestling.

WCWA Nationals
at Cobb County Civic Center, Marietta, GA.

Finals Matches 
101: McKenzie Bacich (Campbellsville) vs. Esthela Trevino (Umpqua)
109: Emily Shilson (Augsburg) vs. McKayla Campbell (Campbellsville)
116: Jaslynn Gallegos (Presbyterian) vs. Katlyn Pizzo (Campbellsville)
123: Vayle-Rae Baker (Augsburg) vs. Julia Vidallon (Life)
130: Abigail Nette (Campbellsville) vs. Gabby Skidmore (Augsburg)
136: Aliyah Yates (Big Bend) vs. Zoe Nowicki (Adrian)
143: Gabrielle Garcia (Campbellsville) vs. Morgan Norris (Presbyterian)
155: Jayden Laurent (Lakeland) vs. Rachel Watters (Oklahoma City)
170: Kenya-Lee Sloan (Campbellsville) vs. Mariah Harris (Campbellsville)
191: Agatha Andrews (Jamestown) vs. Alexandra Castillo (Campbellsville)

Semifinals Results

101
McKenzie Bacich (Campbellsville) Fall Esther Walker (Midland), 4-0 0:50
Esthela Trevino (Umpqua) dec Cecilia Saavedra (Grays Harbor), 8-0

109
Emily Shilson (Augsburg) FALL Sugey Ceja (Tiffin), 2-0 0:42
McKayla Campbell (Campbellsville) TF Jessica Dehart La Grande, OR (Eastern Oregon), 13-0 6:00

116
Jaslynn Gallegos (Presbyterian) FALL Charlotte Fowler (Campbellsville) 7-0 0:59
Katlyn Pizzo (Campbellsville) FALL Ashley Gooman (Midland), 10-4 2:05

123
Vayle-Rae Baker (Augsburg) dec Adrianna Lopez (Campbellsville), 8-7
Julia Vidallon (Life) dec Savannah Stacks (Tiffin), 9-3

130
Abigail Nette (Campbellsville) TF Aysia Cortez (Life), 12-0 1:44
Gabby Skidmore (Augsburg) dec Alex Enriquez Marietta, (Life), 4-0

136
Aliyah Yates (Big Bend) FALL Jacqueline Parks (Jamestown), 6-5 2:39
Zoe Nowicki (Adrian) dec Destiny Lyng (Oklahoma City), 9-5

143
Gabrielle Garcia (Campbellsville) dec Erica Sotelo (Life), 3-1
Morgan Norris (Presbyterian) TF Sydney Freund (Oklahoma City), 10-0 2:39

155
Jayden Laurent (Lakeland) dec Alexia Foca (Campbellsville), 11-3
Rachel Watters (Oklahoma City) TF Taylor Hites (Tiffin), 12-1 3:22

170
Kenya-Lee Sloan (Campbellsville) TF Jade Piper (Umpqua), 17-6 5:53
Mariah Harris (Campbellsville) dec Jordan Nelson (Life), 9-3

191
Agatha Andrews (Jamestown) FALL Nkechinyere Nwankwo (Oklahoma City), 5-4 4:57
Alexandra Castillo (Campbellsville) dec Gabrielle Hamilton (Life) 2-1