William Penn Nearly Sweeps Top Awards
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s wrestling team walked off with an abundance of hardware last Saturday at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship.
In addition to the squad’s second-place finish, several members of the program won postseason accolades.
Adaugo Nwachukwu (Jr., San Jose, Calif., Exercise Science) was named both the Heart’s Wrestler of the Year, but also the Co-Tournament Outstanding Wrestler. She won all three of her matches last Saturday by technical fall en route to the 136-pound title.
130-pounder Devin Patton (So., Plano, Texas, Business Management) was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year. She posted two technical falls and one fall as part of her road to the championship.
Head Coach Jake Kadel and Assistant Coach Cash Wilcke were also tabbed by their peers as the best in the conference at their respective positions. The duo has transformed WPU from a team that finished last in the league a year ago to one that has been ranked in the NAIA’s top 10 for most of the year and nearly won last weekend’s crown. William Penn will be sending a minimum of seven grapplers into battle at next weekend’s NAIA National Championship.
WPU almost picked up a complete sweep of the Heart’s awards. Nwachukwu shared the Tournament Outstanding Wrestler accolade with Abby McIntyre (Grand View) and Joanna Hendricks (Waldorf), while Mariah Wahl of Dickinson State picked up the Freshman of the Year honor.
In addition to the aforementioned laurels, the following were also named all-Heart recipients:
First-team all-Heart (Heart champion)
Mia Palumbo (Jr., Oak Lawn, Ill., Exercise Science)–109 pounds
Joanna Vanderwood (Jr., Graham, Wash., Nursing)–123 pounds
Patton–130 pounds
Nwachukwu–136 pounds
Second-team all-Heart (Second place)
Teya Garner (Fr., San Antonio, Texas, Biology)–101 pounds
Catherine Steinkamp (Jr., Quincy, Ill., Exercise Science)–116 pounds
Ashley Lekas (So., Plano, Texas, Business Management)–170 pounds
Third-team all-Heart (Third place)
Isabelle Hawley (So., Winchester, Calif., Sociology)–143 pounds
