RESULTS
OKLAHOMA CITY – After going 4-1 Friday in pool play at the Oklahoma City duals, the Wayland Baptist women's wrestling team earned a spot in the Gold
Bracket Saturday. The Pioneers didn't fare as well Saturday, going 0-3, but still came out with a few positives after competing against some of the best competition the nation has to offer.
"The top-24 teams in the country were here," head coach
Aaron Meister said. "Our scores weren't indicative of our performance and how we really wrestled today."
The Pioneers fell to No. 2 Oklahoma City, 42-4, in their first match Saturday, then to No. 7 McKendree, 26-19, and No. 10 University of the Cumberlands, 31-18.
"We're just a little nicked up right now and we're having to forfeit a couple of weight classes. In some of the matches we've forfeited we've actually won, but because of an injury or something like that they've gotten the points."
A perfect example of one of those matches would be when the Pioneers wrestled McKendree.
In Wayland's dual with McKendree, the Bearcats jumped out to a 14-5 lead, with WBU's only points coming via pin from freshman Rhina Lopez, but
Vanessa Smith got a technical fall and Michelle Guerrero pinned Tayler Resuriz to even the score, 14-14.
The Bearcats responded with a 9-1 decision to regain the lead, 17-15, but after their third forfeit win, Wayland's
Jordan Smith kept the Pioneers in the running with a 2-2 decision win to close the gap, 23-18.
The Pioneers had the right person on the mat, but
Tarkyia Mensah would need a pin to tie the score. Mensah, who was wrestling up a weight class Saturday, fought hard, but ultimately tied Jasmine Bailey at the end of the match. Because Bailey scored last, Mensah took the loss, her only setback during the weekend.
Mensah led the Pioneers once again Saturday, winning two out of her three matches. The junior from Katy, Texas picked up the team's only win in a 42-4 loss to OCU, getting a 7-6 decision over Rachel Young, the third-ranked wrestler in the 136-pound weight class, and pinned the Cumberlands' Angelica Hernandez.
Vanessa Smith and
Jordan Smith both had a pair of wins Saturday, while Lopez, Guerrero and
Lauryn Bruggink also had wins for Wayland.
Despite losing all three matches Saturday, the Pioneers still wound up in sixth place at the prestigious tournament. Wayland had an overall record of 4-4 at the two-day event.
"I'm very pleased with where we're at right now," Meister said. "We're already starting to close the gap against some of the teams in the top-five. When we get some of our girls stronger and as they get more experience, we'll be even better.
"We're excited to see the results of our hard work in the second semester."
The Pioneers host No. 2 Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. Nov.5 in the Pete and Nelda Laney Center for their next taste of competition. The dual will be the third time Wayland and OCU have met this year.
Oklahoma City 42, Wayland Baptist 4
136: Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, decision over Rachel Young, OCU, 7-6 (WBU leads, 3-1)
143: Hailey Garcia, OCU, forfeit over WBU (OCU leads, 6-3)
155: Kayla Aggio, OCU, pinned Rhina Lopez, WBU, 0:54 (OCU leads, 11-3)
170: Sherese Thomas, OCU, forfeit win over WBU (OCU leads, 16-3)
191: Heather O'Connor, OCU, technical fall over
Kierra Boyce, WBU, 11-0 (OCU leads, 20-3)
101: Emily Webster, OCU, technical fall over
Vanessa Smith, WBU, 12-2 (OCU leads, 24-4)
109: Cody Pfau, OCU, pinned Daysha Woods, WBU, 1:39 (OCU leads, 29-4)
116: Shelby Morrison, OCU, technical fall over
Lauryn Bruggink, WBU, 11-0 (OCU leads, 33-4)
123: Rachel Archer, OCU, technical fall over
Rizpah Umi, WBU, 11-0 (OCU leads, 37-4)
130: Carla Ponce, OCU, pinned
Jordan Smith, WBU, 3:41 (OCU wins, 42-4)
McKendree (Ill.) 26, Wayland Baptist 19
143: Alexis Porter, MU, technical fall over Rachel Bates, WBU, 12-0 (MU leads, 4-0)
155: Rhina Lopez, WBU, pinned Robin Torres, MU, 5:59 (WBU leads, 5-4)
170: Ashley Miles, MU, forfeit win over WBU (MU leads, 9-5)
191: Alana Jimenez, MU, forfeit win over WBU (MU leads, 14-5)
101: Vanessa Smith, WBU, technical fall over Coellet Rangel, MU, 10-0 (MU leads, 14-9)
109: Michelle Guerrero, WBU, pinned Tayler Resuriz, MU, 4:06 (Match tied, 14-14)
116: Lindsey Spiut, MU, decision over
Lauryn Bruggink, WBU, 9-1 (MU leads, 17-15)
123: Alyssa Gonzalez, MU, forfeit win over WBU (MU leads, 22-15)
130: Jordan Smith, WBU, decision over Kennon Henderson, MU, 2-2 (MU leads, 23-18)
136: Jasmin Bailey, MU, decision over,
Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, 12-12 (MU wins, 26-19)
University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 31, Wayland Baptist 18
170: Sherese Thomas, UC, forfeit win over WBU (UC leads, 5-0)
191: Courteney Tompkins, UC, forfeit win over WBU (UC leads, 10-0)
101: Vanessa Smith, WBU, technical fall over Sarah Allen, UC, 14-4 (UC leads, 11-4)
109: Angelo Enos, UC, pinned Daysha Woods, WBU, 4:56 (UC leads, 16-4)
116: Lauryn Bruggink, WBU, technical fall over Alex Campbell, UC, 14-4 (UC leads, 17-8)
123: Sherri Berube, UC, pinned
Rizpah Umi, WBU, 0:56 (UC leads, 22-8)
130: Jordan Smith, WBU, pinned Ashley Talaro-Potter, 1:30 (UC leads, 22-13)
136: Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, pinned Angelica Hernandez, UC, 1:13 (UC leads, 22-18)
143: Kristin Yamasaki, UC, pinned Rachel Bates, WBU, 4:33 (UC leads, 27-18)
155: Kaleigh Jennings, UC, technical fall over Rhina Lopez, WBU, 10-0 (UC wins, 31-18)
