Three wrestlers win national titles

Juniors Natalia Hinojo and Cody Pfau and Freshman Becka Leathers won individual titles in the Women’s College Wrestling Association Championships on Feb. 13.

The championships were hosted in Abe Lemons Arena in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center.
The second-ranked Stars finished as national runner-up with 190.5 points on the strength of nine all-Americans. No. 1-ranked King (Tenn.) secured its third consecutive national championship.

The team’s other placings included, Junior Margaret Douma, the 143-pound runner-up; Sophomore Cassidy Jasperson, who took fourth place at 123 pounds; Senior Shelby Morrison, who snatched fourth at 116; Junior Rachel Archer, the fifth-place individual at 116; Freshman Monica Mason, who grabbed seventh at 191; and Senior Rachel Young, who picked up eighth at 136.
Pfau won her second consecutive 109-pound WCWA championship by pinning Breonnah Neal of King (Tenn.) in 4:35.

Pfau, ranked No. 1, put Neal on her back towards the end of the first period before finishing the fall later in the match. Neal, the second-ranked 109-pounder, dealt Pfau her only loss of the season in the NWCA National Duals on Jan. 9. Pfau took tournament outstanding wrestler and WCWA wrestler of the year, as well as TheMat.com‘s wrestler of the week.
In the tournament, Pfau posted five falls, including one in 48 seconds over Arielle Hernandez from McKendree (Ill.) in the championship semifinals. Pfau upped her program single-season record for falls to 34 as well as her season record to 42-1.
Hinojo captured the 130-pound title, stunning Nicole Depa of Simon Fraser (British Columbia) with a fall in 21 seconds. Hinojo reached the final with a 15-3 romp past Shelby Hall from Campbellsville (Ky.). Hinojo concluded the season with a 29-2 record.
“It’s truly an amazing experience,” Hinojo said. “I feel like I’ve come a long way since my freshman year, and my coaches and my teammates helped me get to this spot. I know I’ve worked so hard and trained for this day, and it finally paid off.”
Leathers reeled in the 123-pound championship with a 10-2 triumph over Megan Black of McKendree. Leathers notched a 9-2 semifinal win over Dominique Parrish of Simon Fraser. Leathers ended the season 30-2 and No. 1 at her weight.
“It’s really exciting to win, but I’m so proud of my team,” Leathers said. “Our goal was to be team national champions, but the fact that everyone wrestled with so much heart made it so great the whole weekend. My goal is to be a four-time national champion, so this is just one step closer to that. I’m grateful to be at OCU and so thankful for all my coaches from Benny Coleman to Matt Stevens to the man, Archie Randall.”
Douma fell short of the 143-pound crown in a 10-0 technical-fall verdict taken by top-ranked Mallory Velte of Simon Fraser. Douma added a 12-8 semifinal victory over fourth-ranked Alexis Porter from McKendree. Douma finished 26-10 and eighth in the rankings this season.
Jasperson dropped a 10-0 technical fall to Dominique Parrish from Simon Fraser in the 123-pound third-place match. Jasperson advanced to the third-place match by defeating Simon Fraser’s Jennifer Anderson 6-4 in the consolation semifinals.
Morrison closed out the tournament with a 10-0 loss to Cady Chessin from Menlo (Calif.) in the third-place match at 116. Morrison pinned Jennifer Juarez from Life (Ga.) and Madelynn McIlwain of Southern Oregon before edging Hanna Grisewood of King in the consolation semifinals. The three-time all-American ended her Stars career 113-34 with 46 falls.
Archer became the fifth-place individual at 116 pounds with a 3-1 win over Hanna Grisewood of King.
Mason won 9-6 over Gabriela Guzman from Lindenwood (Mo.) to take seventh place at 191 pounds. Mason had a technical-fall win 12-0 over C.C. Sigler of Lyon (Ark.) in the consolations Feb. 13.
Young fell 15-4 to Cassandra Herkelman from McKendree in the 136-pound seventh-place match. Young earned her second all-American nod and completed her OCU career with an 82-51 record and 28 pins. Young knocked out the Stars’ Heiley Garcia in the consolations, but lost to Missouri Baptist’s Sarah Bollinger 12-2.