Bowling Green, KY – The Mid-South Conference women's wrestling championships is one of the top tournaments of the season with top-five NAIA wrestlers competing in every weight class. The Patriots battled well as a team, scoring 63.5 points from 12 different wrestlers. With the MSC determining the All-Conference honors, UC placed four on the list with one First Team All-MSC, a pair on Second Team and one on Third Team.

Jesse Kirby won First Team All-MSC honors for the first time in her career, winning the 191-weight class. She picked up three wins on the day to give Kirby her first 30-win season of her career. The Culpeper, VA native did not have an easy road to the championship, with all three of her competitors ranked in the NAIA. Her first match was against #18 Briana Staebler from Campbellsville. Staebler got the first point of the match, but then Kirby earned four points, and never was behind in the match again. Kirby utilized a knee pick and snap single to push the match out of reach, winning 8-4 by decision. In the semifinals, Kirby had to face ninth ranked Catherine Palmieri from Life, who Kirby had pinned at 2:23 during the Warrior Open. Kirby went up early, 4-0 with a sprawl and using her arm bar to force Palmieri on her back. She improved her pin time from earlier in the season, pinning Palmieri at 1:45. The championship bout faced #4 Kirby against #6 Liliana Vergara from Campbellsville. Up 4-3, Kirby utilized a snap headlock to arm throw, pinning Vergara for not only the 191-title but also the third time this season, proving she is the top wrestler for her weight class in the MSC.

Aliyah Yates and Dymond Guilford made it to the championship matches for their weight classes as well, earning MSC Second Team for the first time in their respective careers. Yates rattled off a pair of wins, one from a tech fall and the other a decision. In her first match in the 136-weight class, Yates was relentless from the start using a crotchlift, leg laces and doubles to blank her opponent 10-0 for the tech fall victory. Her semifinal match was a battle with 14^th ranked Ellyana Kuzma from Indiana Tech. Yates dominated the opening period, going up 8-0. Kuzma battled back in the second earning six points, but Yates put the match out of reach with one more point to get the 9-6 decision win. Yates lost in the championship match to 7^th ranked Randi Robison from Campbellsville via fall to claim second place.

In her MSC Championships debut, Guilford went 1-1 for a second-place finish. She opened the tournament with a 10-0 tech fall win over 16^th ranked Stephanie Villalobos from Life. Guilford rattled off the 10 points just nine seconds apart from one another, dominating the match. She then had to face fifth ranked Jordan Nelson from Life in the championship. The two battled all the way through. Guilford got the first two points in the match, however Nelson picked up eight unanswered for the 8-2 decision win.

Now a two-time All-MSC honoree, Elizabeth Dosado took home third place in the 101-weight class. She started off the day with a 10-0 tech fall. She began it with a double to get four points and then defended a shot and got behind to pick up two more points for the 6-0 lead. Dosado finished off her opponent with a snap go behind. Dosado then lost in the semifinals, falling to the consolation bracket, but she rallied back for two more wins. She had to face ninth ranked Sydney Kutze and it was another dominating performance for Dosado. She never surrendered a point for the 12-0 tech fall highlighted by a crotchlift and single leg. In her third place match, she earned her first fall of the day at 4:18. With her opponent in the lead at 6-2, Dosado landed a blast double that put her opponent straight on her back for the pin,

Also taking home an honor was Sarah Allen, who earned MSC Assistant Coach of the Year. Coach Allen has been instrumental in the team's success since joining the staff in 2017. She was a standout wrestler for UC and still holds the most wins in the program's history with 132.

Just outside the MSC honors was MaQuoia Bernabe in the 191-weight class. She went 1-2 on the day with both of her losses as tech falls to fifth ranked Gabrielle Hamilton from Life. Her one win came against Palmieri with a fall at 4:23. Bernabe went up 11-0, but used a snap to trip to put Palmieri on her back for the pin.

Allyson Arrington, Alexis Medina, and Zoey Smith all picked up wins on the day helping UC solidify a third-place team finish. Campbellsville took home the team title with 142.5 points, followed by 120.5 points from Life.

UC has one final competition left on the season, the NAIA National Tournament. The two-day tournament will start March 11 in Jamestown, ND.

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