ATHERTON, Calif. – Oklahoma City University may be facing tougher competition for a third consecutive national championship in the Women’s College Wrestling Association Championships on Saturday at Haynes-Prim Pavilion.
OCU coach Archie Randall expects Jamestown (N.D.), King (Tenn.) and Simon Fraser (British Columbia) each to be prepared to take advantage should the Stars slip up.
The Stars expect to have national-title contenders in at least eight weights. OCU brought 19 competitors to the tournament. Only the highest placers at each weight will be able to count towards OCU’s team total.
To see the tournament on live video, click here<http://www.menloathletics.com/>, or via live scoring, click here<http://www.twnode8.com/opentournaments/MainFrame.jsp?sport=wrestling&TIM=1296256681365&pageName=&ie=true&frameSize=500>. Competition is scheduled to start 11 a.m. Oklahoma time.
OCU comes off winning its fourth NWCA National Duals championship in a row on Jan. 9.
“We have an opportunity to put someone in the finals of every weight, but it’s a national tournament,” Randall said. “Anything can happen. Having 19 individuals is important as long as they place. Somebody placing fifth instead of third could hurt us, and the point spread changes dramatically. We could have finalists at three other weights. We don’t place at those weights, and someone else does, Simon Fraser could take the lead.”
OCU’s Michaela Hutchison at 55 (121), Amberle Montgomery at 63 (138) and Brittany Delgado at 95 (209) return to defend individual national titles from last season. OCU had 13 all-Americans and outscored Cumberlands (Ky.) by 48 points in the team scoring.
Five Stars enter the tournament ranked No. 1 at their respective weights – Nicole Woody at 44 (97), Ashley Hudson at 59 (130), Kristie Davis at 67 (147), Melissa Simmons at 72 (158) and Delgado at 80 (176).
Hutchison, a junior from Soldotna, Alaska, will be aiming for her third national championship. Hudson, a senior from Wildwood, Mo., and Woody, a senior from Gambrills, Md., will be looking to become four-time all-Americans.
Each of the 12 other teams are expected to bring competitors capable of knocking off OCU’s individuals.
“All the teams have someone expected to be a champion,” Randall said. “Hopefully they beat each other up. They’re college athletes. You can’t tell what goes through their minds. If we do what we’re supposed to, we’ll be successful.”
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