It was almost a repeat of 2013 for the SFU Clan women’s wrestling team when they travelled to Des Moines, IA for the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) National Duals last weekend. They finished in second place after two days of competition; though they were just one win away from repeating as WCWA Dual Champions, the second place success is still an excellent showing for the dual team.
The Clan women started the tournament against University of the Cumberlands winning nine of the 10 matches, beating the Patriots 38–6 overall. The following day the Clan took on second-ranked Oklahoma City University in the semi-finals where they would bounce the 2013 runner-ups out of the finals. SFU saw more intense competition from the highly ranked OCU Stars, taking the dual 27–17 on the second day of competition.
In the final, SFU fell to King College by two points, losing 21–19 in the last dual of the meet. The Tornado would finish first, matching their ranking entering the competition, taking the title for the first time in school history.
SFU’s dual team included Darby Huckle, Victoria Anthony, Laura Anderson, Helen Maroulis, Maegan Kuruvita, Monika Podgorski, Justina DiStasio, Jenna McLatchy, Nikkie Brar, Mallory Velte, and Michiko Araki. Seniors Anthony, Maroulis, DiStasio and McLatchy were all undefeated throughout the tournament, closing out their dual careers with the Clan in winning style and leading their team to their second top-two finish at the championships in as many years.
Velte, Kuruvita and Anderson all won matches in their first championships as the three freshmen were able to earn points for the Clan in the first two duals of the meet. Huckle won the Clan’s first match in the final against King before Maroulis, DiStasio and McLatchy finished it off for SFU.
The Clan will get another shot at a first-place finish when they head to St. Louis, MO, beginning January 24, where they will attempt to defend their 2013 WCWA National Championship in the non-dual portion of their championship season.
The Clan lost seniors Danielle Lappage and Sidney Morrison who were champions in their weight-classes in 2013, but retain many members of the winning squad heading into this year’s tournament. McLatchey, DiStasio and Maroulis are all returning champions, and Brar and Huckle are returning bronze medalists.
