The Clan women walked away with four Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) championships in their weight divisions, including two broken WCWA records, after the championships were held in St. Louis the weekend before last.
The day was especially triumphant for Victoria Anthony and Helen Maroulis, two American natives competing on home soil, who both captured a fourth championship title in as many years: Anthony winning at 109-pounds, Maroulis at 130. Anthony and Maroulis are the first two wrestlers to do so in the history of the WCWA.
Both ladies headed into the finals after besting their semi-final rivals by technical fall, then won in the finals by fall, clinching their championship titles. Anthony defeated Campbellville’s Breonnah Neal, while Maroulis knocked off Rachel McFarland of Oklahoma City University.
Two more championship claims came from Justina DiStasio, who took her third title in the 170-pound weight class, and Jenna McLatchy, who picked up her second title at 191-pounds. Both hail from right here in the Lower Mainland, calling Coquitlam and Chilliwack home, respectively.
DiStasio came out on top in her two matches on Saturday by technical fall and decision, overcoming Gabriela Guzman of Lindenwood University in the semi-final, and her Lindenwood teammate Victoria Francis in the final.
McLatchy conquered her final two matches by decision, defeating Leya Justi Luafalemana of Northwest Kansas in the semis and Malexsis McAdoo of King University in the final round to take her second WCWA championship.
All four of the victorious women are seniors on the team, making their last year of NCAA play all the sweeter.
Other performances of note included those by junior Darby Huckle, who improved on her last year third place standing by taking second at 101-pounds, and Abbotsford’s Nikki Brar, who won by decision in her third place match to take third at 116-pounds.
Freshman Mallory Velte also finished hot on the heels of four-time champion Maroulis in the 130-pound class, taking home fourth place.
The Clan’s four WCWA titles tied SFU with King University for the most titles by a single school at the event.
