Iowa tabs three champs, high schoolers Bouzakis, Solomon earn titles at Missouri Valley Open

Marshall, Mo. – Titans clashed and youth was served at the latest edition of the Missouri Valley Open.

One of the toughest tournaments in women’s college wrestling wrapped up its two-day competition on Saturday, crowning 10 individual champions (plus an exhibition weight). And per usual, the action on the mat delivered.

While no official team scores were kept, the NCAA’s top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes led all schools with three individual champions, with #2 McKendree (two) the only other to land multiple athletes atop the podium.

The five remaining titles were split between Fort Hays State (KS), Simon Fraser University (CAN) and William Penn (IA) – plus a pair of supremely impressive ‘unattached’ entries from the high school ranks.

Starting with #1 Iowa, all three champions for the Hawkeyes came from consecutive middleweights.

At 131 pounds, NCAA #3 Karlee Brooks and Emily Frost both used semifinal headlocks to secure their place(s) in an all-Hawkeye final – won 2-1 by Brooks.

Skye Realin (138) gave Iowa its second champ thanks to a 10-0 finals tech. fall over Julia Chambers (Quincy) – her fifth bonus-point victory in six matches.

And NCAA #2 Reese Larramendy made it back-to-back-to-back Hawkeye champions with a win by default at 145. Over the course of two days, the 2024 NCWWC champion outscored her opponents by a combined margin of 49-2.

As for McKendree, its individual titles came at 110 and 160 pounds respectively.

Up first, NCAA #2 Gabriele Tedesco scored a takedown and turn within the final five seconds to knock off Iowa’s Nyla Valencia, 4-3. Up until the final, neither 110-pounder had conceded a point during the entire tournament.

Meanwhile, at 160, last-second dramatics were in store for another Bearcat – NCAA #5 Savannah Gomez.

Trailing 2-1 in the waning moments, Gomez took NAIA’s third-ranked Mercy Adekuoroye (Wayland Baptist) to her back for the match-winning fall with just 0:08 left on the clock.

Among the other collegiate champs, none was more dominant than Fort Hays State’s Isabella Renfro.

Renfro – ranked #5 in the latest NCAA Coaches Poll – bonused her way through the field at 180 pounds, including a first-period fall over #3 Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree) in the finals.

At 124 pounds, Victoria Baez Dilone had her own impressive final – defeating NCAA #1 Shelby Moore via 5-1 decision.

The 2024 NCWWC runner up – who now represents NAIA power William Penn (IA) – allowed just a single point over the course of six matches.

And at 207, Julia Richey (Simon Fraser) will be taking home a ‘MoVal’ title for the second time in three years (2023) after defeating NCAA #2 Jaycee Foeller (Iowa) in defensive slugfest, 2-1.

Those familiar with the women’s wrestling scene in America know that these athletes are getting better and better at younger and younger ages.

And this weekend was yet another shining example.

High school juniors Jaclyn Bouzakis (103) and Marlee Solomon (117) both won titles as ‘unattached’ competitors on Saturday – capping off dominant runs amidst primarily collegiate competition.

One of several well-known high school phenoms, Bouzakis (out of prep powerhouse Wyoming Seminary) didn’t wrestle beyond the first period, or allow a point, until her 14-3 finals win over NCAA #4 Valarie Solorio (Iowa) – including a 10-0 semifinal tech. fall over NCAA #3 Heather Crull (McKendree).

As for Solomon, the Canon-McMillian (PA) product encountered a bit more resistance en route to a title – which she won via fall over NAIA #8 Grace Lashinksy (Lindsey Wilson).

Nowhere was that more so the case than her semifinal against fellow high schooler – and 2024 U17 World champion – Kaura Coles. Trailing 9-2 with 2:00 remaining, Solomon scored seven-consecutive points to win on criteria. The last of those came on an exposure with no more than tenths of a second left on the clock.

Simply put, the future (and present) of USA women’s wrestling only grows brighter with young talent like this bursting from the developmental pipeline.

Final results and complete brackets of the 2025 Missouri Valley Open are available on FloWrestling.com.

Full match replays from the event are available online with a FloWrestling subscription.