OKLAHOMA CITY – It wasn't a very large monkey, mind you, but
Aaron Meister was still glad to get rid of it.
"The coaches were very happy to get the monkey off our back and get a team win," the Wayland Baptist wrestling coach said after his fifth-ranked women's team won four of five matches on the opening day of the Oklahoma City Duals here Friday.
Wayland defeated ninth-ranked Missouri Baptist, 28-17; seventh-ranked McKendree (Ill.), 39-2; 15
th-ranked Waldorf (Iowa), 43-5; and 15
th-ranked Warner Pacific (Ore.), 26-16, while falling only to top-ranked King (Tenn.), 37-7. (Waldorf and Warner Pacific are among eight teams tied for 15
th in the WCWA preseason poll.)
Meister described Wayland's overall performance as "excellent," calling it a relief to experience some success after dropping matches to No. 2 Oklahoma City and No. 6 Simon Fraser (British Columbia.)
"We came up on the short end twice, and for a younger team it's hard for them to understand the level of competition we've been facing," Meister said. "We just really needed to get not just a team win, but some individual wins to give them some confidence and a little bit of faith and courage in what we're doing."
Leading the way for Wayland was
Tarkyia Mensah, who won all five of her matches in the 130-pound division.
"She was pretty dominant in all but one match," Meister said of Mensah, who recorded four technical falls. "She beat a very good girl from King (Jessie Kee by decision, 10-3)."
Vanessa Smith in 101s and
Kierra Boyce in 191s both won four of their five bouts.
"They both wrestled some good competition, coming out on the better half of the majority of them," Meister said. "But those losses are good ways to see what we need to work on."
Meister said all 10 of his wrestlers earned at least one win.
"For some of them it was their first wins of the season and of their college careers, so that was exciting to see," he said. "Overall, it was nice to see a lot of the stuff that we've been working for come to fruition."
The Pioneers qualified for the gold bracket on Saturday.
The tournament features 24 teams who competed Friday in four separate pools. Wayland qualified for the gold bracket on Saturday.
Wayland's Blue team, which consists of five wrestlers which forced them to forfeit half of their matches, will competed in the bronze bracket.
Wayland at Oklahoma City Duals
Wayland Baptist 28, Missouri Baptist 17101: Vanessa Smith, WBU, technical fall over Anissa Rodriguez, MBU, 10-0 (WBU leads, 4-0)
109: Daysha Woods, WBU, pinned Samantha Diaz, MBU 2:01 (WBU leads, 9-0)
116: Lauryn Bruggink, WBU, technical fall over Marylou Martinez, MBU, 10-0 (WBU leads, 13-0)
123: Monana Drum, MBU, pinned
Rizpah Umi, WBU, 4:58 (WBU leads 13-5)
130: Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, technical fall over Erika Mihalca, MBU, 10-0 (WBU leads, 17-5)
136: Sarah Bolinger, MBU, decision over
Kelsey Baker, WBU, 6-3 (WBU leads, 18-8)
143: Rachel Bates, WBU, pinned Lindsay Villarmia, MBU, 1:08 (WBU leads, 23-8)
155: Cheyenne Youngblood, MBU, technical fall over
Rhina Lopez, WBU, 10-0 (WBU leads, 23-12)
170: Aylin Hernandez, MBU, forfeit win over WBU (WBU leads, 23-17)
191: Kierra Boyce, WBU, forfeit win over MBU (WBU wins, 28-17)
Wayland Baptist 39, McKendree University (Ill.) 2101: Vanessa Smith, WBU, forfeit over MU (WBU leads, 5-0)
109: Michelle Guerrero, WBU, decision over Arielle Hernandez, MU, 12-4 (WBU leads, 8-1)
116: Lauryn Bruggink, WBU, technical fall over Isabella Fuentes, MU, 11-0 (WBU leads, 12-1)
123: Rizpah Umi, WBU, pinned Leila Vazquez, MU, 0:00 (WBU leads, 17-1)
130: Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, technical fall over Samantha Barrientos, MU, 10-0 (WBU leads, 21-1)
136: Kelsey Baker, WBU, technical fall over Brianna Andazola, 11-1 (WBU leads, 25-2)
143: Rachel Bates, WBU, pinned Christina Cochran, MU, 0:00 (WBU leads, 30-2)
155: Rhina Lopez, WBU, technical fall over Andrea Ruiz, MU, 10-0 (WBU leads, 34-2)
170: Double forfeit
191: Kierra Boyce, WBU, pinned Stephanie Pantoja, MU, 3:00 (WBU wins, 39-2)
King (Tenn.) 37, Wayland Baptist 7116: Haley Augello, KU, technical fall over
Lauryn Bruggink, WBU, 10-0 (KU leads, 4-0)
123: Hanna Grisewood, KU, pinned
Rizpah Umi, WBU, 1:16 (KU leads, 9-0)
130: Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, decision over
Jessi Kee, KU, 6-3 (KU leads, 10-3)
136: Forrest Molinari, KU, pinned
Kelsey Baker, WBU, 2:00 (KU leads, 15-3)
143: Amanda Hendey, KU, pinned
Rachel Bates, WBU, 0:44 (KU leads, 20-3)
155: Lorrie Ramos, KU, pinned
Rhina Lopez, WBU, 0:43 (KU leads, 25-3)
170: Julia Salata, KU, forfeit win over WBU (KU leads, 30-3)
191: Kierra Boyce, WBU, decision over Brenda Perez, KU, 9-0 (KU leads, 30-6)
101: Marina Joi, KU, decision over
Vanessa Smith, WBU, 7-1 (KU leads, 33-7)
109: Breonah Neal, KU, technical fall over
Daysha Woods, WBU, 11-0 (KU wins, 37-7)
Wayland Baptist 43, Waldorf College (Iowa) 5123: Rizpah Umi, WBU, forfeit win over WC (WBU leads, 5-0)
130: Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, technical fall over Sara Sanchez, WC, 10-0 (WBU leads, 9-0)
136: Gabby Klein, WC, forfeit win over WBU (WBU leads, 9-5)
143: Rachel Bates, WBU, forfeit win over WC (WBU leads, 14-5)
155: Rhina Lopez, WBU, forfeit win over WC (WBU leads, 19-5)
170: Nahiela Magee, WBU, technical fall over Ashley Lentz, WC, 10-0 (WBU leads, 23-5)
191: Kierra Boyce, WBU, pinned Sonya Legate, WC, 0:00 (WBU leads, 28-5)
101: Vanessa Smith, WBU, forfeit over WC (WBU leads, 33-5)
109: Michelle Guerrero, WBU, pinned Maciel Ramirez, WC, 0:00 (WBU leads, 38-5)
116: Lauryn Bruggink, WBU, forfeit win over WC (WBU wins, 43-5)
Wayland Baptist 26, Warner Pacific College (Ore.) 16116: Michelle Guerrero, WBU, pinned Miranda Borrego, WPC, 5:13 (WBU leads, 5-0)
123: Rizpah Umi, WBU, pinned Kassi Strano, WPC, 3:47 (WBU leads, 10-0)
130: Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, technical fall over Breanne Diaz, WPC, 10-0 (WBU leads, 14-0)
136: Kaitlyn Eddy, WPC, forfeit win over WBU (WBU leads, 14-5)
143: Jessica Lee, WPC, forfeit win over WBU (WBU leads, 14-10)
155: Rhina Lopez, WBU, decision over Kristina Diaz, 9-2 (WBU leads, 17-11)
170: Double forfeit
191: Kiaya Vanscoyoc, WPC, pinned
Kierra Boyce, WBU, 1:26 (WBU leads, 17-16)
101: Vanessa Smith, WBU, technical fall over Kaelynn Canyete, WPC, 10-0 (WBU leads, 21-16)
109: Daysha Woods, WBU, forfeit over WPC (WBU wins, 26-16)
