Final Results (PDF)

Fort Wayne, IN – At the Warrior Open, UC had multiple wrestlers win individual titles for the first time this season. The Patriots also had a total of 11 wrestlers place in the top-eight of their weight class to give the team an overall place of fourth place with 160 team points. Out of the 12-team field, Campbellsville led all teams with 234.5 points.

As a squad, UC had a 40-31 record with more pins (19-14) and outscoring opponents 227-128 in match points.

The two top place finishers for the Patriots were Jesse Kirby in the 191-weight class and Chamira Cooper in the 170-weight class. For Kirby it marks her first career title and for Cooper it is her second career title. Kirby not only led UC, but she led the entire tournament as the only wrestler with six falls for a perfect 6-0 record. Cooper notched a fall and a pair of tech falls for her first-place finish.

Kirby had no easy route to her Warrior Open Championship defeating three ranked NAIA wrestlers. The 191-weight class for the tournament was setup in a pool play format with all seven wrestlers facing off against each other. In Kirby's first match, she squared off against #15 Liliana Vergara from Campbellsville. Kirby was up to a 4-2 lead when she was able to get Vergara on her back at 1:55 for the fall win. Next up #3 Kirby, stayed within the top-ten for her opponent with #10 Catherine Palmieri from Life. The Culpeper, VA native was once again out to a lead before giving Palmieri her first loss of the season with a fall at 2:23. The third round gave the junior her third straight ranked opponent of Perla Ramirez ranked 19^th from Indiana Tech. Kirby blanked Ramirez 5-0 before securing the win via fall at 1:57. For Kirby's next three fall wins, she rattled them off at 51, 31, and 26 seconds which gave her the most falls least time in the entire tournament at 8:03.

Cooper competed in the 170-weight class that was in a bracket form where Cooper worked her way to the championship. In her first bout, she took on 16^th ranked Catherine McNulty from Indiana Tech. Cooper, ranked #8, went up 4-0 early, before winning by fall at 1:41. The win put the Cerritos, CA native into the semifinals. In similar fashion, up 4-0 in the first period, Cooper secured the win via fall this time even quicker at 1:32. For the championship, Cooper once again finished off her opponent in the first period, this time with a 10-0 tech fall at 2:30. Cooper is now 18-2 on the season, with two tournament wins to her name.

Also making her way to the championship match was Aliyah Yates, in the 143-weight class. Despite wrestling up a weight class, Yates earned a 3-1 record for a second-place finish. In her first match after going down 4-0, she battled her way back to win via a 11-6 decision. Yates then went on to have two tech fall wins, blanking her opponents 20-0 combined, to earn a spot in the championship match against fifth ranked Emma Walker from Campbellsville. Unfortunately, Yates had to exit the match early due to injury giving the Palmdale, CA native her second runner-up finish of the season.

Earning her first top-three finish of the season was Elizabeth Dosado in the 109-weight class. Using round robin style, Dosado finished with a 2-3 record for third place. Her first win came over teammate, Jaine Stephens with a 11-1 tech fall. Stephens finished in sixth place for the 109-weight class. Dosado's other victory was a fall at 2:48 for her third fall of the season.

Picking up her first top finish was Courtney Pittman in the 130-weight class. Through bracket play she notched a 4-2 finish with both of her losses coming from #15 Charmayne Delong from Indiana Tech. Pittman opened the tournament with a fall at 24 seconds for her second fastest of the season. After dropping to the consolation bracket, Pittman faced teammate, Dylan Hernandez and won by fall at 1:18. Working her way to the third-place match, Pittman earned a 12-0 tech fall and a fall at 2:44 before losing in the third-place match to earn fourth place. Hernandez did pick up her first collegiate win before facing Pittman. Hernandez started off with a four-point takedown in the first eight seconds and never looked back, with a 12-2 tech fall win.

Freshman, Ashley Courtney had the best tournament of her young career, finishing in fifth place in the 116-weight class. She collected a 3-2 record picking up back-to-back wins by pin at 1:56 and 2:25 respectively to start the tournament. She lost in two matches sending her to the fifth-place match, and undeterred Courtney blanked her opponent with a 10-0 tech fall.

Another Patriot in Kailee Godinez earned a fifth-place finish, hers coming in the 155-weight class. After losing her first match, the senior won three in a row. Her first was a 10-0 tech fall and then had back-to-back fall victories at 4:51 and 49 seconds respectively. The latter pin is the fastest of the season for Godinez. She lost in the consolation semifinals to earn a spot in the fifth-place matchup that she wo via forfeit. Also competing in the 155-weight class was Stephany Dean who earned an eighth-place finish, the best of her career. The freshman picked up two wins with one coming via fall at 1:52 for her first career win.

In the 123-weight class both Hailey Foster and Vanessa Nebre placed in the top-eight. The two met in the seventh-place matchup with Foster picking up the win with a fall at 2:30.

The Patriots will have some time off before returning to competition, wrapping up the 2021 calendar season. UC will be back starting January 6 for the two-day NWCA National Duals in Louisville, KY.

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