Statesmen Split Home-Opening Triangular with Missouri Valley, St. Ambrose

Oskaloosa–A trio of Statesmen each won twice as the William Penn women’s wrestling team went 1-1 in Heart of America Athletic Conference dual meet action Tuesday.

WPU (1-1, 1-1 Heart) opened its dual season with a 34-15 loss to Missouri Valley, but then rebounded to defeat St. Ambrose 28-18.

Missouri Valley 34, WPU 15

Due to a pair of forfeits, the home team fell into 15-0 hole before 124-pounder Silvia Garcia-Vasquez (So., West Liberty, Iowa, Nursing) pinned Ayten Elbarbary in a time of 2:32.

Sydney Andrews (So., Beloit, Wis., Business Management) trailed by several points against Serenity De La Garza at 131 pounds, but rallied and eventually got a pin of her own in 5:26 to trim the deficit to five at 15-10.

Unfortunately, all but one of the remaining matches went to the Vikings (2-0, 2-0 Heart), except for at 180 pounds. At that weight, Bella Harris (Jr., Charleston, Tenn., Nursing) took care of Audree Willess, claiming a fall in 2:51.

The under-manned Statesmen squad took another hit as well with 145-pounder Maeley Elsbury (Jr., Chelsea, Iowa, Biology) being injured during her match.

WPU 28, St. Ambrose 18

Fortunately, William Penn rallied in Tuesday’s nightcap, winning five of the seven contested matches. The Statesmen also took advantage of the Bees (0-2, 0-2 Heart) not being at full strength by earning a pair of forfeits.

Lily Zapata (Jr., Lewisville, Texas, Psychology) and Destiny Martinez (Fr., Elkhart, Ind., Exercise Science) were forfeited to at 110 and 207 pounds, respectively.

Garcia-Vasquez collected her second victory of the night, posting a 10-0 technical fall over Maliya Berry at 124, while Andrews walked off with an injury default win at 131.

138-pounder Ana Vilar (So., Palm Coast, Fla., Secondary Education) then evened up her record for the evening by defeating Morgan Hinton by a 12-0 technical fall.

Harris finished off a perfect night with a 10-0 technical fall over Sarah Parker at 180 pounds.

“Tri-meets are always a test of depth and focus,” Head Coach Gary Woods II said. “We know we do not have the depth this year, and are already battling multiple injuries, but tonight threw some extra adversity our way. Losing one of our captains to a major injury in that first dual is incredibly tough, and our immediate thoughts and prayers are with her. However, I am so proud of how this team stayed locked in and wrestled through that heartbreak.”

“Splitting the duals shows we have a lot of fight in us, but more importantly, it shows our resilience,” Woods II added. “We saw a lot of things tonight that we need to fix in the room, but the way our women rallied behind each other after seeing a teammate go down tells me everything I need to know about the character of this program. Tonight proved that when adversity hits this program, we do not fold; we tighten up our circle and keep wrestling.”

Next Up: William Penn is off the rest of the week, returning to action next Wednesday, November 11 as it travels to Des Moines to face Grand View in a Hart dual at 6:30 p.m.

Missouri Valley 34, WPU 15

103–Sage Beltran (M) won by fall over Olivia Atkins, 0:43 (0-5)
110–Ava Ward (M) won by forfeit (0-10)
117–Jenniyah Duarte (M) won by forfeit (0-15)
124–Silvia Garcia-Vasquez (W) won by fall over Ayten Elbarbary, 2:32 (5-15)
131–Sydney Andrews (W) won by fall over Serenity De La Garza, 5:26 (10-15)
138–Norah Roettgen (M) won by technical fall over Ana Vilar, 10-0 (10-19)
145–Breanne Gibbs (M) won by injury default over Maeley Elsbury (10-24)
160–Maria Slaughter (M) won by fall over Alexa Wolf, 1:18 (10-29)
180–Bella Harris (W) won by fall over Audree Willess, 2:51 (15-29)
207–Keasiya Luedde (M) won by fall over Destiny Martinez, 1:36 (15-34)

WPU 28, St. Ambrose 18

103–Celia Esquivel (S) won by fall over Olivia Atkins, 0:58 (0-5)
110–Lily Zapata (W) won by forfeit (5-5)
117–Ruth Luyeye (S) won by forfeit (5-10)
124–Silvia Garcia-Vasquez (W) won by technical fall over Maliya Berry, 10-0 (9-10)
131–Sydney Andrews (W) won by injury default over Emjay Neumann (14-10)
138–Ana Vilar (W) won by technical fall over Morgan Hinton, 12-0 (18-10)
145–Gia Ritter (S) won by forfeit (18-15)
160–Webeline Naklen (S) won by decision over Joey Ives, 4-3 (19-18) (WPU earned a team point by scoring in the match)
180–Bella Harris (W) won by technical fall over Sarah Parker, 10-0 (23-18)
207–Destiny Martinez (W) won by forfeit (28-18)