NAIA: Day One Recap

Friday was an incredible day of wrestling at the 2021 NAIA National Invitational. The sessions ran smoothly, and splitting the sessions between two sets of weight classed worked really well. Semifinals through to placing rounds (except the championship finals) will be wrestled starting at 10am. Even without the number of fans from a traditional national championship event the Harold Newman Arena is loud and has exceptional energy. Athletes and coaches are fired up to be on the mats with their teams.

As anticipated, there were a lot of unknowns that came flooding into the spotlight. Southern Oregon, for one, hasn’t competed all year. Unseeded Macie Stewart upset Jamestown’s #2 Rayana Sahagun at 109, and #8 Sienna Ramirez (155) powered her way through to the semis with a win by fall at the buzzer over Oklahoma City’s #1 Cierra Foster. Their third semifinalist is Esthella Trevino at 101 pounds, and they have two more wrestlers in the consolation quarters. The Raiders are fifth as a team and still in close contention with No. 2 and No. 3 Oklahoma City and Wayland Baptist.

Campbellsville leads the team race by 26 points. With seven semifinalists, they have the opportunity to strengthen that lead substantially. Their top seeded wrestlers in the semis include #1 McKayla Campbell (109), #3 Katlyn Pizzo (123), #3 Angela Vitiritti (130), #2 Randi Robison (136), #5 Kendra Thompson (155) and #1 Alex Castillo (170). Charlotte Fowler, #7 at 116, upset Texas Wesleyan’s #2 seed Camille Fournier to breakthrough on the championship side of the bracket. Emma Walker (143), Jacqueline Ghent (123) and Brianna Staebler (170) are all in the consolation quarterfinals.

Life’s Payton Prussin has been the buzz of the wrestling community after an iconic five-point throw in the round of 16. She advanced to the semis along with teammates Julia Vidallon (#1 at 123) and Jordan Nelson (#2 at 170). Unseeded Devyn Gomez upset the #2 seed from the University of Cumberlands in the round of 16. Gomez dropped the championship quarterfinal match but has wrestled back to the consolation quarters. The team sits in second place at the start of day two and have ten wrestlers in the mix with seven on the consolation side.

In 2019, Wayland teammates Nina Pham and Asia Ray were the finals match at 101 pounds. This year they’re both in the semis, but #1 Pham is at 101 and #3 Ray is at 109. Desiree Zavala is dominating the 136-pound bracket and, after some success on the senior level, is looking to secure her first college title. Jordan Suarez (#4 at 143) and De’Anna Prince (#4 at 130) are also in the semifinals.

Victoria Hinojo was a surprise wrestler for Oklahoma City on day one. She came in unseeded and upset #2 MaQuoia Bernabe (UC) in the quarterfinals. Hinojo will face Baker’s #2 Elisa Robinsin in the semis. Three of the Stars top-seeded wrestlers are in the semifinals: #4 Destiny Lyng (136), #2 Sydney Freund (143) and #1 Chi Chi Nwankwo (191).

The 130-pound bracket going exactly as it was seeded on the championship side and the University of the Cumberland’s senior Bridgette Duty is absolutely dominating the field. Duty has only given up a single point, has hit a 4-point move in every match and advanced to the semis with two techs and a fall.

Of the thirty-one programs, ten are competing in the championships for the first time either as first or second-year programs. Some of those young programs have standout competitors.  

Baker got started in 2018 but this is their first year competing in the NAIA National Invitational. They’ve guaranteed their program’s first All-American’s this weekend and have three wrestlers in the semis—Morgan Mayginnes (155), Nichole Moore (123) and Elisa Robinson (191). Their team is super scrappy.

First year programs Indiana Tech and Lourdes each have a wrestler in the semifinals—Tehani Soares (109, I. Tech) and Stefana Jelacic (116, Lourdes). Semifinalists from Texas Wesleyan are Madison Brown (101) and Mea Mohler (130). From Grand View, Andrea Schlabach (136) and Hunter Robinson (170). 

Also in the semifinals are Eastern Oregon’s #6 Erin Redford, Lyon’s Jasmine Hernandez (#2 at 116) and Kelani Corbett (#4 at 191) and Midland’s Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp (143) and K. Lewis (155).

Semifinal Matchups
101: #1 N. Pham (WBU) vs #4 E. Trevino (SOU)
101: #3 I. Navarro (PRO) vs #7 M. Brown (TXWS)
109: #1 M. Campbell (CU) vs #4 T. Soares (INDT)
109: #3 A. Ray (WBU) vs M. Stewart (SOU)
116: #1 P. Prussin (LIFE) vs #4 J. Bartishofski (JMST)
116: #3 S. Jelacic (LRDS) vs #7 C. Fowler (CU)
123: #1 J. Vidallon (LIFE) vs #5 N. Moore (BKR)
123: #3 K. Pizzo (CU) vs #2 J. Hernandez (LC)
130: #1 B. Duty (UC) vs #4 D. Prince (WBU)
130: #3 A. Vitiritti (CU) vs #2. M. Mohler (TXWS)
136: #1 D. Zavala (WBU) vs #4 D. Lyng (OCU)
136: #3 A. Schlabach (GRVW) vs #2 R. Robison (CU)
143: #1 W. Estrella-Beauchamp (MIDL) vs #5 J. Suarez (WBU)
143: #6 E. Redford (EOU) vs #2 S. Freund (OCU)
155: #8 S. Ramirez (SOU) vs #5 K. Thompson (CU)
155: #3 K. Lewis (MIDL) vs #2 M. Mayginnes (BKR)
170: #1. A. Castillo (CU) vs #5 S. Talmadge (JMST)
170: #3 H. Robinson (GRVU) vs #2 J. Nelson (LIFE)
191: #1 N. Nwankwo (OCU) vs #4 K. Corbett (LC)
191: V. Hinojo (OCU) vs #2 E. Robinson (BKR)

Team Standings
Campbellsville (126.5)
Life (100.5)
Oklahoma City (78.5)
Wayland Baptist (73)
Southern Oregon (71.5)
Cumberlands (68.5)
Jamestown (65)
Missouri Valley (64.5)
Grand View (60)
Midland (58.5)