Jamestown, ND – Cumberlands sent 12 wrestlers to the NAIA Women's Wrestling Championship and five remain after day one of competition guaranteeing All-American status. Four of them will battle it out in the blood rounds looking for First Team All-American accolades while Bridgette Duty remains in the championship bracket headed to the semifinals.

Of the five placers for UC, three of them are first time participants while the remaining two are veteran seniors. As a team, the Patriots have scored 68.5 points putting them in sixth place. They sit just three points behind Okahoma City, the fifth-place team from day one. MSC teams Campbellsville and Life sit in the top two spots with over 100 points each.

Duty dominated her competitors on the first day of the tournament. Her opening match only lasted 51 seconds after she had 10-0 tech fall. She opened up the scoring with a four point gut throw and never looked back. The second match Duty put up 12 points and then solidified the win with a fall at 3:39 to move her into the quarterfinals at 130. A win in the quarterfinals would solidify Duty finishing top-six and earning First Team All-American. The senior was patient in the match looking for her opportunities to strike. After almost a minute and a half into the match Duty issued a four-point takedown. She then earned three two-point takedowns for the 10-0 tech fall and a spot in the semifinals.

Wrestling in her first competition of her career proved to be no issue for Angelina Castaneda in the 101- weight class who will earn All-American honors. The freshman lost her opening bout to the top-seeded wrestler, Nina Pham from Wayland Baptist, but then rattled off three straight victories to stay alive in the bracket for day two. Her first two wins came from 10-0 tech falls and then in the third she defeated six-seeded Esther Walker from Midland, a conference champion in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. Also, in the 101-weght class was freshman, Elizabeth Dosado who was unable to pick up a win at the tournament and ended her season. She did combine for eight match points and only lost her opening match by four points.

Earning the fist All-American status of her career is Ashley Ikner in the 143-weight class. She opened the tournament with a forfeit win and then a fall at 4:27 to advance to the quarterfinals. In her second matchup she was up 5-4, using her last two-point takedown to put her opponent on her back for the win. Ikner lost her quarterfinals bout to the #2 seed Sydney Freund from Oklahoma City. The 11-3 tech fall loss fueled Ikner who turned around and won her next match to give her All-American honors. The senior blanked her next opponent in the 8-0 decision win, earning four points in each period.

Also competing in the 143-weight class was senior Kailee Godinez who finished the day 1-2. She lost her opening match to drop to the consolation bracket, but answered back in the consolation round of 16 #2 with a fall win, her 12^th of the season at 1:02. In her final match in a Patriot uniform was unable to escape an early 8-0 deficit, falling 14-4.

Chamira Cooper was in her first career NAIA Championship Tournament and will now earn All-American honors. Seeded fourth in the 170-weight class, Cooper opened her tournament with a 50 second fall after picking up back-to-back two-point takedowns. Next, she shutout her opponent 10-0 for the tech fall win and a spot in the quarte finals. Her quarterfinals matchup was a battle throughout against fifth seeded Sierra Talmadge from Jamestown. Cooper picked up the first two-point takedown of the matchup but Talmadge already had a 3-0 lead. Cooper picked up three more points, but could not catch Talmadge ultimately losing 9-5. Falling to the blood round meant Cooper had to wrestle teammate Michelle Kamyshin. It was a hard-fought match with Cooper up 5-2 at the break. However, Cooper ultimately got the fall win to remain in the tournament. Kamyshin won her opening match with a fall win at 1:49 but then lost her second match via a 10-1 decision. Then she regrouped for a 26 second fall, the fastest fall of her career before losing to Cooper.  

MaQuoia Bernabe went 2-1 in the 191 bracket to open the tournament earning her a spot on the All-American team. She won her first match with a 58 second fall. Her next match proved to be evenly contested, but she was edged out 4-2 to fall to the consolation bracket. Bernabe wasted no time in this one, blanking her opponent 11-0 for the tech fall victory and a chance at a top finish. Alongside Bernabe in the 191-weight class was fellow freshman, Ariana Pereira. Up against #5 Catherine Palmieri from Life proved to be a tough start to her NAIA Nationals debut. Palmieri won 10-0 sending Pereira to the blood round. The freshman then picked up back-to-back tech fall wins. The first was a 12-2 tech fall followed by blanking her opponent 10-0. However in her next match, Pereira was pinned to end her freshman campaign.  

Jaine Stephens earned the first fall of the tournament for the Patriots after pinning her opponent at 2:09 after throwing her to the ground. The Williamsburg, KY native then won her next contest from a fall this time at 3:43 to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Seeded #5 herself, Stephens next opponent was fourth seeded Tehani Soares from Indiana Tech. Stephens fought to the end, but went down 8-4 before being pinned. Having to wrestle quickly after her loss, Stephens had to face #7 seed Katalina Bartelt from Life. Bartlet shut Stephens out with a 10-0 tech fall, ending Stephens' season.

Both Hailey Budney and Allyson Arrington competed for the Patriots in the 136-weight class. Neither wrestler earned a victory and lost their opening matches via fall from wrestlers seeded in the top-five. Unfortunately, their next matches also ended in falls to end their seasons.

The five wrestlers still in the tournament are competing for All-American honors and have solidified top-eight finishes for their respective weight classes.

The team will return to the mats to finish out the NAIA season starting at 11 am ET. All of the tournament information including video, schedule, and stats can be found here.
 
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