Mount Olive, NC – The UC women's wrestling team opened their 2023-24 season at the Trojan Open, hosted by University of Mount Olive. The Patriots had a stellar showing, placing four in the top-five of their respective weight classes with three individual champions.  As a team, Cumberlands led their opponents in every statistical category including most falls (11), tech falls (7), and match points (223).
 
Claiming the individual titles for the Pats were Elizabeth Elliott, Olivia Hogan, and Saiheron Preciado-Meza. Oriyana Castex earned second place while Kaitlin Castro placed third. Cierra Abrego collected a fourth-place finish rounded out by Alex Uribe with a fifth place finish.

In the 109-weight class, Elizabeth Elliot collected a first-place finish after dominating her opponents throughout the day en route to a 4-0 record. To open the tournament, Elliot collected a 14-10 decision followed by a 5-2 decision to sit at a 2-0 record. In her third match of the day, she gave no mercy and earned a 12-1 tech-fall victory. Elliot secured her first place with her first fall as a Patriot in just 1:46.

In the 143-weight class, Olivia Hogan collected her first collegiate tournament win as a Patriot after finishing the day 3-0. Hogan started the day with a bye before her first match. The sophomore was relentless recording consecutive 10-0 tech falls over Makia Mingo-Strain (St. Andrews) and Natalie Titus (Havelock WC). In the finals, she earned a pair of take downs before oearning the fall at the 3:40 mark to secured a first-place victory.

In the 170-weight class, #18 Saiheron Preciado-Meza was the third individual champion for the Pats. Preciado-Meza also started the tournament with an opening round bye. She recorded a pair of falls on the day, the first one was seen in her first match with a time of 2:41. In the second match, she recorded a pin with a time of 0:36 to set a personal best. In the championship match, Preciado-Meza left it all on the mat with a 10-0 win via tech fall over Savannah Bramhall (Tech Fall WC).

In the 136-weight class, Oriyana Castex placed second after competing in her first collegiate tournament as a Patriot. In her first match of the day, Castex was strong out of the gates with a 14-4 tech fall. Shortly after, she collected her first fall in 27 seconds to advance to the semifinals. Castex continued to work her way through the winner's bracket with a 13-5 decision, but ultimately fell just short with a 2-10 decision in the championship match.

In the 123-weight class, Kaitlin Castro also had her first collegiate outing where her only loss of the tournament was to the first-place winner. Castro received a bye in the first round but was firing on all cylinders during her first match, recording her first collegiate pin in 2:13. After falling to the consolation bracket, Castro was determined to work her way back, Castro recorded a pair of falls in her final two matches of the evening, 2:02 and 1:34, for a total of three pins during the open.

In the 170-weight class, Cierra Abrego also received a bye in her first round. During her first match of the open, Abrego was hot out of the gates recording a 10-0 tech fall. In her second match of the day, Abrego fought with grit but fell just short. Determined to work her way into the standings, she recorded a 10-0 tech-fall to record a fourth-place finish.
 
The Patriots will return to the mats for the Life Open in Marietta, GA on Saturday, November 11.

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