"First round, second day."
That's been the rallying cry for the Wayland Baptist wrestling teams in their preparations for national competitions, and on Saturday morning in duals against Ottawa University (Kan.) the Pioneers made their cry heard loud and clear as both teams won convincingly. Wayland's seventh-ranked women defeated No. 19 Ottawa, 35-11 while the 15
th-ranked Pioneer men topped the Braves, who are ranked the equivalent of 36
th in the NAIA, 34-9.
"It was a great performance on both ends," said WBU coach
Aaron Meister, who went on to explain the program's mantra that alludes to wrestlers advancing to the first round on the second day of competition at nationals are guaranteed at least an eighth-place finish and all-American status.
"That's been our focus with these teams," he said. "We've tried to get them to visualize that all year long so when we get to that point it's not going to be something new to them.
"Today we took another step in that direction."
Wayland overwhelmed Ottawa on what was Senior Day for the Pioneers. Laurynn Bruggink,
Michele Guerrero and
Valerie Rosales were recognized on the women's side, while
Markese Christian,
Kane Lovvorn,
Andrew Porras and
Victor Thomas were honored for the men.
All seven seniors came away with wins, including pins by Guerrero, Rosales, Lovvorn and Thomas.
"It was nice to get the wins on Senior Day," Meister said.
The matches were Wayland's final home competitions of the 2015-16 season, and Meister pointed out that both teams finished undefeated at home, albeit in just five outings – two for the women and three for the men. It marks the first time either program has done that, and to have both programs do it makes it even sweeter.
"It was a good way to end our home schedule," Meister said.
Assistant coach
Rachael Shannon called it one of the women's team's most impressive performances of the season as Wayland improved its match record 6-3.
"I thought they were more confident and aggressive than they've looked all year," Shannon said.
For the Pioneer men (19-7), who have won eight straight duals, assistant coach
Matt Oney said the squad is heading in the right direction due to "the effort and willingness to keep a positive mind-set. That makes a huge difference."
Next up for the WBU women are WCWA Nationals set for Feb. 12 and 13 in Oklahoma City, followed by University Nationals, also in Oklahoma City, in late March.
The Pioneer men have one more outing prior to nationals as they travel to Meister's hometown of Holton, Kan., to take on Bethany and No. 18 Baker on Feb. 6. The NAIA South Qualifier will be held in Oklahoma City Feb. 20, with NAIA Nationals in Topeka, Kan., on March 4 and 5.
Women
No. 7 Wayland Baptist 35, No. 19 Ottawa, Kan. 11
101: Lisa Anderson (OTT) over
Evelynn Simmons (WBU) forfeit; OTT leads 5-0
109:
Michele Guerrero (WBU) over Tabitha Sparks (OTT) fall; tied 5-5
116: Meranda Homan (OTT) over Laurynn Bruggink (WBU) forfeit; OTT leads 10-5
123:
Destany DeLaCruz (WBU) over Lacey Henderson (OTT) dec. 10-6; OTT leads 11-8
130:
Rizpah Umi (WBU) over Maudie Arredondo (OTT) TF 10-0; WBU leads 12-11
136: Breanna Vasquez (WBU) over Anna Erst (OTT) TF 10-0; WBU leads 16-11
143: Marina Briceno (WBU) over Addie Lanning (OTT) fall; WBU leads 21-11
155:
Valerie Rosales (WBU) over Darla Allen (OTT) fall; WBU leads 26-11
170:
Nahiela Magee (WBU) over Denise Martinez (OTT) TF 10-0, WBU leads 30-11
191:
Kierra Boyce (WBU) over Joz Ayla (OTT) pin; WBU wins 35-11
Exhibitions
109: Shaina Madgelano (OTT) over Rozalyn Vasquez (WBU) dec. 8-8
116: Sarah Rocker (OTT) over
Kenia Rosas (WBU) dec. 6-2
130/136:
Tarkyia Mensah (WBU) over Addie Lanning (OTT) TF 14-4
170:
Brittany Marshall (WBU) over Grace Chamber (OTT) fall
191:
Kierra Boyce (WBU) over Ashley Henderson (OTT) fall
Men
No. 15 Wayland Baptist 34, Ottawa, Kan. 9
285:
Markese Christian (WBU) over Armando Contreras (OTT) dec. 10-7; WBU leads 2-0
125:
Adelfo Valdez (WBU) over Kaleb Furr (OTT) dec. 8-3; WBU leads 5-0
133:
Andrew Porras (WBU) over Grant Hollingsworth (OTT) maj. 14-6; WBU leads 9-(-1)
141: Tyler Hinton (OTT) over
Gabriel Perez (WBU) pin 2:40; WBU leads 9-5
149:
Kane Lovvorn (WBU) over Jay Pacha (OTT) pin 2:03; WBU leads 15-5
157:
Victor Thomas (WBU) over Mark Smith (OTT) pin 1:02; WBU leads 21-5
165:
Romen Correa (WBU) over Zach Sanders (OTT) maj. 12-4; WBU leads 25-5
174:
Tommy Rosen-St. John (WBU) over Noah McGinis (OTT) dec. 8-3; WBU leads 28-5
184:
Mich Napier (WBU) over Brandon Ott (OTT) pin 1:38; WBU leads 34-5
197: Kasey Krump (OTT) over
David Willoughby (WBU) maj. 11-2; WBU wins 34-9
Exhibitions
285: Ramiro Garcia (OTT) over
Markese Christian (WBU) pin 0:42
125:
Trent Mills (WBU) over Caleb Love (OTT) dec. 12-7
133:
Demarco Speller (WBU) over Ashton Rocker (OTT) pin 2:28
165: Ben DeJarnett (OTT) over
Gregory Parram III (WBU) pin 2:42
