MARSHALL, Mo. --- Wayland Baptist placed nine women at the Missouri Valley Open on Saturday. The Pioneers, ranked fifth in the latest WCWA poll, finished third in four different weight classes, had one fourth place finisher, two that placed fifth, and two that were eighth.
Ofelia Valdez, took a 2-0 decision in the third place match at 101-pounds. The junior from Dallas went 3-1 on the day with her only loss a 2-0 decision to eventual champion Emily Webster of Oklahoma City. Webster is the top-ranked wrestler in the weight class.
A freshman from Katy, Texas, Tamyra Mensah won a 2-1 decision in her third place match in the 143-pound division. Mensah also went 3-1 on the day after receiving a first round bye. Her lone loss came to Jennifer Page of OCU, who finished second. Page is ranked second by the WCWA.
Brenda Mendoza went 3-1 in the 170-pound class. The junior from El Paso received a bye in the first round, won a 2-0 decision in the second round, fell 2-1 to Oklahoma City's Heather O'Connor in the third round, and then pinned her next opponent to advance to the third place match. She won that one by a 2-0 decision over Brittany Jones of Missouri Valley.
The third place match in the women's 191-pound class came down to two Wayland athletes. Freshman Miriam Moreno of Hereford, Texas, pinned teammate Angela Vyborny 45 seconds into the bout for the win. Moreno, ranked #4 by the WCWA, went 4-1 and suffered her only loss of the day to eventual champion Brittany Delgado of OCU.
Vyborny, a sophomore from Citrus Heights, Calif., was 2-2 on the day. She advanced to the third place match by pinning Amber Floyd of King College.
Sophomore Jeneisha Woods and freshman Valerie Rosales were the fifth place winners for WBU. Woods, from Amarillo, Texas, went 3-2 in the 136-pound class with one of the wins against freshman teammate Jerilyn Partin. Her final win was a 2-0 decision.
Rosales, a 155-pounder from El Paso, went 3-2 including a 2-0 decision in the fifth place match. Another of Rosales's wins came at the expense of freshman teammate Obrianna Baidoo of Plano, Texas.
Junior Nallely Carrillo went 2-3 in the 109-pound class to place eighth. The El Paso native lost a 2-0 decision in her final match of the day.
A sophomore from Lakin, Kansas, who is ranked #5 at 123, Samantha Gonzales was 2-3 on the day. She also dropped a 2-0 decision in the seventh place match.
Other Pioneer competitors were 123-pound freshmen Darlene Fernandez (1-2) and Jesse Von Behren (1-2); 130-pound freshmen Erin Miller (1-2) and Tarkyia Mensah (1-2); 136-pound junior Danielle Walker (1-2) and Partin (1-2); and Baidoo (0-2).
