Women's Wrestling Finish 6th in Strong Missouri Valley Open Field
Women's Wrestling / 11.20.21
MARSHALL, Mo. --- Junior, phenom
Peyton Prussin captured the 109 lbs title, while three other members of the Life University women's wrestling team placed as the Running Eagles captured sixth place with 110.0 points in a field comprised of the best programs in collegiate women's wrestling on the campus of Missouri Valley College Friday through Saturday.
The event's champion was the King University Tornadoes who compiled 244.0 total points, they were joined atop the rankings by fellow NCAA powers McKendree (210.5) and North Central College (178.5). The only NAIA teams to place higher than the Running Eagles were No. 5 Texas Wesleyan at fourth with 139.0 points and No. 4 Grand View with 119.5 at fifth place.
The Running Eagles placed four wrestlers on the podium, Prussin being the only champion, while freshman
Salyna Shotwell got a quick start to her career in the 116 lbs. bracket with a runner-up.
Alma Mendoza finished in sixth place at 143 lbs., and
Jordan Nelson was the final podium taker with seventh in the 170 lbs. bracket.
On the championship side of the bracket, Prussin's journey to capturing the victory in the 109 lbs. bracket started with three straight technical falls, before a hard fought, 8-6, decision over top-ranked Nina Pham boosted her into the championship match. In the championship match, Prussin met No. 3 Ovieonce Ray, quickly winning via a 13-0 technical fall. Shotwell had the quickest start to the tournament, pinning all five of her opponents on the way to the championships bought at 116 lbs. The pins included wins over No. 3 Camile Fournier (2:45) and No. 19 Jessienna Burkett‐Erice (0:33), before dropping a tough decision to King Univ.'s Sage Mortimer 11-9.
Finishing in the consolation bracket, Mendoza had a huge bounce back after losing her first match, winning five straight, including three pins, one of which was over No. 6 Mattison Parker. Mendoza's resurgence ended in the consolation semifinals, ending up in sixth place. The final placer, Nelson started her day with a 4-1 decision over No. 9 Ashley Lekas and a tech fall before a loss bumped her into the consolation bracket. A win and a loss in the consolation bracket placed Nelson in the seventh-place match, defeating her opponent via decision 6-1.
The records of Life U wrestlers that did not place are listed below:
Regarding the team's performance in the stacked field, head coach
Ashley Sword said, "This year's tournament has 371 athletes entered making it one of if not the largest women's wrestling tournament in history. The best of the best were here and the team competed well for their first tournament of the season.
Peyton Prussin showed that she is the women to beat at any weight, winning the tournament at 109 and being named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. She defeated 2 past national champions, one who is a world medalist en route.
Salyna Shotwell had an amazing showing, finishing 2nd in a heartbreaker of a final.
Alma Mendoza and
Jordan Nelson showed us that you can learn while winning shrugging off losses to place. The athletes also were able to learn a lot by watching
Aury Naylor (our graduate assistant) compete and place 3rd."
Sword finished stating, "Overall, the team showed a lot of promise. We are excited by what we saw this weekend and will continue to improve across the board as we build into the championship portion of the season."
The Life U women's wrestling team returns to action on December 10th, facing Indiana Tech and Davenport University in a tri-match at Indiana Tech.
