William Opens Season at Simpson Invite

Indianola–The Statesmen women’s wrestling squad had four grapplers place in the top six as it began its campaign at the Simpson Luther Hill Invitational Saturday.

116-pounder Grecia Martinez (Fr., Horizon City, Texas, Industrial Technology) and 170-pounder Toyia Griffin (So., Nashua, Iowa, Nursing) both finished fourth to top the navy and gold. Martinez was 3-2 with two falls and a technical fall, while Griffin was 2-2 with a fall to her credit.

Payge Fuller (Fr., Plattsburg, Mo.) was one spot behind Griffin in the 170 bracket, going at 3-2 (one fall) for fifth, while 123-pounder Brittany Cotter (So., Katy, Texas, Nursing) took sixth at 3-3 (one fall, one technical fall).

123-pounders Mariah Webster (Mingo, Iowa, Elementary Education), with two falls, and Catherine Steinkamp (So., Quincy, Ill., Biology) both won twice, as did 116-pounder Kylie Bustos (Fr., Amarillo, Texas, Nursing) (one technical fall) and 143-pounder Ashleigh Denny (So., El Paso, Texas, Undecided) (two technical falls).

Kylee Eastwood (Fr., Fontana, Kan., Undecided) and Samantha Ruano (Jr., Romeoville, Ill., Business Management) each pinned an opponent at 170 and 191 pounds, respectively, while 155-pounders MayLee Edwards (So., Newton, Kan., Psychology) and Andrea Smith (So., Rochester, N.Y., Sociology and Political Science) both collected a technical fall victory.

101-pounder Anika Barker (Fr., Phoenix, Ariz., Biology) and 170-pounder Kaylah Johnson (Fr., Houston, Texas, Biology) also hand their hands raised once Saturday.

“I am pleased by the fight our ladies showed,” Head Coach Tucker Black said. “We made plenty of mistakes, but we have lots of things to build on going into the future.”

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Thursday, hosting Iowa Wesleyan in a Heart of America Athletic Conference dual meet at 7 p.m.