USAW
College
Women

Women's College Notebook: Iowa stays Iowa, William Penn notches big win, NCC Invitational on deck

Share:

by Tanner Lafever

Kennedy Blades of Iowa with a signature suplex against Oklahoma State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Kennedy Blades of Iowa with a signature suplex against Oklahoma State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

As I wrote in last week’s notebook, duals were going to be all the rage in Week Five of this women’s college wrestling season.

 

And boy did that prove to be the case.

 

(Not that it took Nostradamus-level foresight to make such a prediction.)

 

We saw top 10 teams clash across both NCAA and NAIA divisions. Iowa and Oklahoma State met in dual competition for the first time. Lehigh made its home debut. And on and on it went.

 

All of it served to illustrate what makes women’s college wrestling such a compelling product.

 

Long before the schedule turns to the postseason, we’re regularly treated to great duals – be they one-offs or multi-team events. And interspersed between them are sensational open tournaments – like the Missouri Valley Open – where the best of the best from around the country converge to lay it on the line.

 

That wonderful dichotomy will be on display again in a few days (more on that later), but this past weekend, it was all about two teams of ten wrestlers each, duking it out with one outcome on the line.

 

As a wrestling fan, it doesn’t get much better than that.

#1 Iowa routs #5 Colorado Mesa and Oklahoma State, but the Cowgirls pull an upset (and show their mettle) 

Iowa was Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

 

The back-to-back national team/dual champions won 18-of-20 matches – including 15 via bonus points – to cruise past two quality opponents.

 

The Hawkeyes also got another highlight-reel moment from one of their superstars – as Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades hit a buzzer-beating, five-point suplex against U20 World teamer Daniella Nugent to bring the Carver crowd to its feet:

But the biggest takeaway from the afternoon in Iowa City may’ve been the presence (and performance) of Oklahoma State.

 

The burgeoning club program fought the Hawkeyes tooth and nail – even in a 39-4 defeat. In fact, Iowa native Molly Allen produced the lone win for the Cowgirls with a 6-0 decision at 124 pounds.

 

But for as valiant/notable as that effort was, the headline result for the Cowgirls came an hour earlier, when the women from Stillwater upset fifth-ranked Colorado Mesa, 24-22.

 

After falling behind, 12-2, it was Molly Allen (once again) who first turned the tide with a technical fall to shrink the margin. And after two more bonus-point victories at 131/138 pounds, Oklahoma State found itself out in front, 15-13.

 

A Colorado Mesa pin at 145 swung the advantage back in favor of the Mavericks, but the Cowgirls were undeterred.

 

A pin by Daniella Nugent (160) and a 13-0 technical fall by Kaiulani Garcia (180) sealed the victory – as head coach Izzak Olejnik and his team celebrated another major milestone in the club’s (hopeful) journey toward full Division I varsity status:

It’s worth noting Colorado Mesa was missing two key starters – taking nothing away from Oklahoma State’s steely performance.

William Penn wins battle of intrastate NAIA rivals  

Situated just 60 miles apart in central Iowa are a pair of powerhouse NAIA programs from the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

 

And in the latest meeting between #3 William Penn and #2 Grand View, it was the third-ranked Statesmen who prevailed in their home gym, 29-14.

 

The hosts didn’t get off to a great start – falling behind early, 9-0. But William Penn responded with authority thanks to its firepower in the middleweights.

 

Five consecutive wins – including technical falls from returning national champions Christianah Ogunsanya (117) and Esther Kolawole (145), plus 2024 NCWWC runner-up Victoria Baez Dilone (124) – gave the home team a 19-11 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

 

All told, the Statesmen won 7-of-10 bouts on the night in a dual featuring 11 different top-10-ranked athletes.

A free replay of the dual is available to stream HERE.

Other duals of note 

As I mentioned in the intro, great dual action was happening all over the place last week.

 

Take Williamsburg, Kentucky, for example.

 

There, NAIA’s eighth-ranked University of the Cumberlands hosted four other top-eight teams as part of the Patriot Duals.

 

Among them: #1 Life University (GA), #4 Providence (MT), #5 Indiana Tech and #6 Lindsey Wilson.

 

Several of these teams split their squads up into multiple entries. Even so, none of them produced a better overall record than #4 Providence – which went a perfect 7-0 over two days of action.

 

‘Life University Black’ – one of two squads competing for the top-ranked Running Eagles – also finished undefeated in its pool, though its 6-0 record did include a win on criteria (23-23) over #5 Indiana Tech.

 

And finally, newly ranked #18 Lehigh continued its historic inaugural season with its first-ever home varsity duals.

 

The Mountain Hawks defeated Delaware State (33-14) and #11 East Stroudsburg (27-17) in front of fans at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall – affectionately known as “The Snake Pit.”

 

At 103 pounds, a forfeit victory by Hattie Mack will go down as the first individual home win in program history. And Senior World team member Audrey Jimenez (110) quickly followed with the first contested win – a 10-0 technical fall in just 0:56.

Two days later, the Mountain Hawks swept the Gannon Duals to push their record to 13-0 this season.

Looking ahead 

While Week Five of the season was all about the dual, Week Six brings us another must-see open tournament.

 

Cancel your plans for Sunday, folks. Because the North Central College Invitational should have your complete attention starting at 9 a.m. (CT).

 

How does five of the top six NCAA teams all in one field sound?

 

-              #1 Iowa

-              #3 Grand Valley State (MI)

-              #4 North Central (IL)

-              #5 Colorado Mesa

-              #6 King (TN)

 

Now, what if I said you could add four of the top five NAIA teams to the mix as well?

 

-              #2 Grand View (IA)

-              #3 William Penn (IA)

-              #4 Providence (MT)

-              #5 Indiana Tech

 

Throw in another seven ranked NCAA squads, plus NAIA #11 Southern Oregon, and it’s almost too good to fathom.

 

But that’s not all. Oklahoma State is scheduled to send a contingent from its talented young club. So too is Menlo College (CA) – the 2024 NAIA national champions, who are currently transitioning from NAIA to NCAA status.

 

And you can expect several talented high school entries, plus a few other wild cards as well.

 

Simply put, you’re not going to want to miss this one – either in person or streaming live on FloWrestling.