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Women's College Notebook: Iowa Wins Inaugural For Her Duals; Dominates Grand View Open

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by Tanner Lafever

Iowa wins title at inaugural For Her Duals

Iowa wins title at inaugural For Her Duals

The final week of the regular season has come and gone for many of the top NCAA women’s programs around the country.


And for their NAIA counterparts – whose national championships are held one week later in March – it still served as a finale of sorts, at least to their cross-divisional opportunities this season.


One thing is for certain – those opportunities (for all) did not go to waste.


And we, as wrestling fans, were the beneficiaries of their spectacular efforts.


Nowhere was that more so the case than in the state of Iowa, as a pair of marquee events highlighted the weekend.

Iowa dominates Grand View Open amidst talented, eclectic field

After various schedule quirks (including a weather-related cancellation) kept it out of competition for 19 days, the NCAA’s top-ranked Iowa women returned with a vengeance at the Grand View Open – annually among the elite open tournaments in the sport.


The Hawkeyes won six of 10 weight classes – including titles by top-ranked Valarie Solorio (103), Reese Larramendy (145) and Kylie Welker (180). And their depth was on full display, too.


That was especially obvious at the likes of 103 and 131 pounds, where Iowa swept the top three spots on the podium.


In the former, #1 Solorio used a late four-point move to overcome fellow Hawkeye Sterling Dias in a phenomenal final.


As for the latter, it was true freshman Bella Williams upsetting #1-ranked teammate Karlee Brooks in a 3-2 championship bout – reversing the outcome of their previous two meetings this season.


But Iowa was hardly the only story in Des Moines.


#4 Grand Valley State (Mich.), #9 Lehigh and #11 Fort Hays State (Kan.) all produced individual champions as NCAA schools.


For GVSU, two-time national champ Katie Lange fought through a loaded 138-pound bracket that featured a pair of top-three-ranked NCAA/NAIA athletes, plus experienced Senior-level competitor SaVannah Cosme (Southwest Wrestling Club) – whom Lange bested via 5-4 decision in the finals.


Lehigh’s champion, seventh-ranked Abbi Cooper, defeated top high school prospect Reagan Mathers (Valiant College Prep) and NAIA’s fourth-ranked Cailin Campbell (Grand View) en route to first place at 117 pounds.

And Alexis Burton broke through at 160 pounds for Fort Hays State, topping a field that opened up when the on-paper favorite Mercy Adekuoroye (Wayland Baptist) was upset by Burton’s FHSU teammate, Kaylee Ricketts, in the quarterfinals.


The final first-place finisher came from the high school ranks, with Martynique Davis (Valiant College Prep) winning four out of four matches via bonus points during her title run at 124 pounds.


Inaugural “For Her Duals” instantly delivers

Just 15 hours after the Grand View Open’s final whistle, Iowa kicked off another premium event of a different sort – also located in the Hawkeye state.


There in Coralville, the first-ever edition of the “For Her Duals” played out in dream-like fashion for tournament organizers and wrestling fans alike.


A quartet of NCAA programs – #1 Iowa, #2 McKendree (Ill.), #17 William Jewell (Mo.) and Ursinus (Pa.) – wrestled one round robin pool.


Another was contested by ranked NAIA programs #1 Life (Ga.), #5 William Penn (Iowa), #8 Indiana Tech and #11 Ottawa (Kan.) – with the respective placers from each pool facing off in a final cross-division matchup.


All eyes were on the guaranteed one-versus-two showdown between the Hawkeyes and Bearcats.


And even though both teams were missing several of their top athletes, the drama was no less present in a dual that came down to the final bout.


Along the way, a pair of second-ranked McKendree wrestlers – freshman Heather Crull (103) and four-time national champion Cam Guerin (131) – defeated top-ranked Hawkeyes.


But Iowa won three of four bouts to close the dual, starting at 145 pounds by #1 Reese Larramendy’s 10-0 tech. fall over returning (138-pound) national finalist Haylie Jaffe.

(Jaffe was among multiple athletes from both teams who bumped up in weight throughout the day.)


And when undefeated Hawkeye upper weights Kylie Welker (11-0 tech. fall) and Katja Osteen (5-0) won in shutout fashion at 180 and 207 pounds, a 24-19 final margin belonged to the Black & Gold.


Meanwhile, the NAIA pool delivered all sorts of its own great action.


#1 Life trailed #8 Indiana Tech by six with two bouts to go, only for Latifah McBryde (bumping up from 160 pounds) and Madeline Welch to secure a 23-20 victory with back-to-back bonus point wins.


Life then met #5 William Penn with first place at stake – only this time, a comeback attempt came up just short.


Among the best matchups, a pair of Nigerian Olympians from William Penn – both returning NAIA national champions – knocked off a pair of top-ranked Eagles.


At 117 pounds, Christianah Ogunsanya defeated #1 Salyna Shotwell by an 11-4 decision. And at 138 pounds, Esther Kolawole teched #1 Zaynah McBryde, 10-0.


But the biggest result for the Statesmen came at 160 pounds when Kylee Eastwood – trailing 4-0 with 1:15 remaining – pinned Zayla Vann in a swing of momentum (and team points) that Life ultimately couldn’t overcome.


The 23-20 win sent William Penn onward to a matchup against NCAA #1 Iowa, leaving Life with the ‘consolation’ of NCAA #2 McKendree.


(I told you this event was awesome.)


In the first-place dual, William Penn jumped out to a 9-4 lead – in part due to Iowa’s #3 Nyla Valencia injury defaulting at 110 pounds following a high-flying sequence in which former NAIA national champion Mia Palumbo hit a four-point move to take the lead in the second period.


But the momentum flipped at 124 pounds thanks to freshman Isabella Gonzales pinning Victoria Baez Dilone in a major upset.


Gonzales – a backup throughout the season for Iowa – stuck the three-time Spanish Senior World Team member with 0:30 left to tie the team score at nine apiece.


From there, it was all Hawkeyes, who won six of seven bouts to close the dual with a 30-13 victory.

(Not to be lost, Life defeated McKendree, 27-18, in an awesome third-place slugfest.)


Get your tickets now

In big off the mat news, tickets for the first-ever sanctioned NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships are officially on sale!

Set for March 6-7 in Coralville, Iowa – Xtream Arena (site of the aforementioned “For Her Duals”) will host this historic event.


Tickets can be purchased at this link. And though I’ll personally be in attendance as a media member, I hope to see as many of you all as possible in the stands for this celebration of women’s wrestling.


Weekly watch guide

With so many programs either off this week or tapering for the postseason, the Jimmy May Open draws my attention as the event to watch.


Among teams entered are a plethora of ranked NAIA outfits:

  • #2 Grand View (Iowa), #5 William Penn (Iowa), #10 Missouri Valley, #11 Ottawa (Kan.), #16 Central Methodist (Mo.), #17 Oklahoma City, #19 Baker (Kan.)

Oklahoma State’s Cowgirl Wrestling Club is also sending a strong contingent. Three different Senior-level athletes are listed as entries from the US Olympic Training Center.


So yeah, keep your eyes peeled for this one!