Wrestling senior Heather O’Connor and sophomore Cody Pfau collected titles in the McKendree Bearcat Open at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.
Junior Kayla Aggio, senior Brieana Delgado and junior Shelby Morrison picked up runner-up finishes as 12 Stars placed in the tournament. The second-ranked Stars compete in the Women’s College Wrestling Association Championships on Feb. 13-14 in St. Louis.
Yvonne Galindo at 155 pounds and Rachel Young at 136 finished third place, while Rachel Archer at 123 took fourth. Heiley Garcia at 143 and Carla Ponce at 130 were sixth, and Margaret Douma was seventh at 143. Natalia Hinojo posted an eighth-place finish at 136.
O’Connor pounded Mikayla Mathews of Lindenwood (Mo.) 10-0 to capture the 191-pound crown. O’Connor, ranked No. 2 nationally at 191, added a 10-0 technical-fall win over Lindenwood’s Rebecca Perales.
Pfau prevailed 5-4 over Breonnah Neal of King (Tenn.) in a matchup of the top two ranked individuals at 109 pounds in the WCWA. Pfau rolled into the championship match with falls over fifth-ranked Ashley Iliff of King and Andrey Diaz of Lindenwood. Pfau (29-1) won her third tournament title this season.
Aggio fell short of the 143-pound title after a 9-6 setback to Cheyenne Youngblood of Missouri Baptist. Aggio made the championship bout after pinning Cassandra Herkelman of McKendree (Ill.) in 1:00. Aggio also took two technical-fall victories.
Delgado lost in the 130-pound title match by fall to Jacarra Winchester from Missouri Valley. Delgado racked up three falls en route to the final.
Morrison fell 5-4 to Lindenwood’s Diaysha Moore in the championship match. Morrison had two falls and a technical-fall win along the way.
The USA Wrestling Dave Schultz Open takes place Feb. 7 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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