CORALVILLE, Iowa – Fort Hays State had a strong showing in its first appearance at the NCWWC Championships on Friday (Mar. 7). The Tigers qualified nine wrestlers for the national tournament and four moved on to the second day of action, keeping their hopes alive for potential All-America honors. The Tigers collectively as a team generated 21 points and sit in 15^th place after the first day of competition. FHSU entered the national tournament ranked No. 23 in the nation.
 
Piper Cadden was the only Tiger to get through the first session of wrestling on Friday unbeaten, dialing up an upset of the No. 4 ranked wrestler in the 131 class to open the tournament. She knocked off Kylie Rule of Wartburg College 6-2 and then handled Natasha Markoutsis of Aurora (Ill.) in the second round with a 12-2 tech fall. She took her only loss of the day in the quarterfinals to No. 1 ranked Sara Sterner of North Central College by tech fall. She will face Regan Retell of Elmira College on Saturday in hopes of moving on to matches determining placement.
 
Nichole Moore (138) and Isabella Renfro (180) also moved on to the second day of action. Both went 3-1 on the day.
 
Moore won her opening match of the tournament 8-0 over Shani Tyson of Frostburg State, but lost in her next match 9-0 to Nina Makem of Augsburg. Moore bounced back in the consolation rounds for a 2-1 win over Tanya Teneva of Western New England and a 9-0 win over Emma Hanrahan of Mount Union. With the three wins for the day, Moore became the first Tiger to reach the 30-win plateau in a season for the program's young history, now with 31. Moore will face Alissa Caltagirone of Northern Michigan on Saturday looking to move into position for placement matches.
 
Renfro lost her opening match of the day to No. 5 ranked Naomi Simon of Iowa by fall, but bounced back for three-straight wins in consolation action. All three of her wins gave the Tigers bonus points, winning by 10-0 tech fall over Aniyah Griffin of Huntingdon, by fall in 1:40 over Mia Gaetjens of Adrian College, and by fall in 2:11 over Isabella Phillips of Gannon. She will face No. 10 ranked Lydia Krauss of McKendree on Saturday looking for a chance at placement matches.
 
A handful of Tigers were on the cusp of making the second day of action, only to fall just short. Josiah Ortiz (117), Jamie Laswell (131), Dylen Ritchey (145), and Hailey Conley (207) all recorded two wins on the day to reach matches that determined wrestlers moving on to the second day.
 
Ortiz won by fall in the opening round, but then lost by tech fall. She bounced back with a 4-4 win by criteria, but dropped her final match of the day 5-1. Laswell had the same result pattern as Ortiz. She won by tech fall in the first round 10-0 before running into No. 1 ranked Sara Sterner of North Central College in her second match. She dialed up another 10-0 tech fall in the consolation round before taking a 10-6 loss in her final match.
 
Ritchey bounced back from an opening round loss, winning her next two matches with a fall in 2:05 and a thrilling 12-11 decision with an amazing seven-point surge in the waning seconds of the match. Unfortunately, she was on the short end of a 4-4 criteria decision in her final match. Conley also had the same result pattern as Ritchey, dropping her first match 5-1 before a 7-4 win and 2-2 win by criteria. She lost her final match by fall.
 
Isabell Ortiz (117) and Ashlynn Goodwin (138) were the only Tigers who did not pick up a win on the first day. Overall, the Tigers recorded 16 wins on the first day at nationals.

Below are results from the first day of competition at the NCWWC Championships.

110

Josiah Ortiz (18-16) place is unknown and scored 3.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Josiah Ortiz (Fort Hays State) 4-4 won by fall over Mackenzie Burger (Alma) 16-9 (Fall 4:28)
• Champ. Round 2 - Kendra Ryan (North Central College) 20-6 won by tech fall over Josiah Ortiz (Fort Hays State) 4-4 (TF-1.5 3:29 (11-0))
• Cons. Round 2 - Josiah Ortiz (Fort Hays State) 4-4 won by decision over Katerina Pendergrass (Gannon University) 24-8 (Dec 4-4)
• Cons. Round 3 - Izabella Frezzo (New Jersey City University) 28-5 won by decision over Josiah Ortiz (Fort Hays State) 4-4 (Dec 5-1)

117

Isabell Ortiz (18-10) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Ana Malovich (Grand Valley State) 16-6 won by decision over Isabell Ortiz (Fort Hays State) 0-2 (Dec 6-4)
• Cons. Round 1 - Nohea Moniz (Sacred Heart) 23-13 won by fall over Isabell Ortiz (Fort Hays State) 0-2 (Fall 2:22)

131

Piper Cadden (14-4) place is unknown.

• Champ. Round 1 - Piper Cadden (Fort Hays State) 14-4 won by decision over Kylie Rule (Wartburg) 26-6 (Dec 6-2)
• Champ. Round 2 - Piper Cadden (Fort Hays State) 14-4 won by tech fall over Natasha Markoutsis (Aurora) 28-17 (TF-1.5 4:10 (12-2))
• Quarterfinal - Sara Sterner (North Central College) 25-4 won by tech fall over Piper Cadden (Fort Hays State) 14-4 (TF-1.5 1:56 (10-0))

131

Jamie Laswell (28-11) place is unknown and scored 4.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Jamie Laswell (Fort Hays State) 28-11 won by tech fall over Madison Wellen (D`Youville) 20-8 (TF-1.5 2:47 (10-0))
• Champ. Round 2 - Sara Sterner (North Central College) 25-4 won by tech fall over Jamie Laswell (Fort Hays State) 28-11 (TF-1.5 5:53 (10-0))
• Cons. Round 2 - Jamie Laswell (Fort Hays State) 28-11 won by tech fall over Dionni Garcia-Vasquez (Simpson) 26-15 (TF-1.5 2:28 (10-0))
• Cons. Round 3 - Hannah Palise (Grand Valley State) 25-17 won by decision over Jamie Laswell (Fort Hays State) 28-11 (Dec 10-6)

138

Ashlynn Goodwin (25-12) place is unknown.

• Champ. Round 1 - Taylor Graveman (North Central College) 26-9 won by decision over Ashlynn Goodwin (Fort Hays State) 25-12 (Dec 8-3)
• Cons. Round 1 - Tanya Teneva (Western New England) 28-5 won by tech fall over Ashlynn Goodwin (Fort Hays State) 25-12 (TF-1.5 4:17 (10-0))

138

Nichole Moore (31-11) place is unknown and scored 2.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Nichole Moore (Fort Hays State) 31-12 won by decision over Shani Tyson (Frostburg State) 21-10 (Dec 8-0)
• Champ. Round 2 - Nina Makem (Augsburg University) 18-4 won by decision over Nichole Moore (Fort Hays State) 31-12 (Dec 9-0)
• Cons. Round 2 - Nichole Moore (Fort Hays State) 31-12 won by decision over Tanya Teneva (Western New England) 28-5 (Dec 2-1)
• Cons. Round 3 - Nichole Moore (Fort Hays State) 31-12 won by decision over Emma Hanrahan (Mount Union) 33-8 (Dec 9-0)

145

Dylen Ritchey (20-14) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Erica Schroeder (Colorado Mesa University) 24-8 won by tech fall over Dylen Ritchey (Fort Hays State) 20-14 (TF-1.5 5:01 (10-0))
• Cons. Round 1 - Dylen Ritchey (Fort Hays State) 20-14 won by fall over Skyelar Smith (West Liberty) 19-13 (Fall 2:05)
• Cons. Round 2 - Dylen Ritchey (Fort Hays State) 20-14 won by decision over Annelise Obermark (Simpson) 32-6 (Dec 12-11)
• Cons. Round 3 - Skylar Little Soldier (Grand Valley State) 16-8 won by decision over Dylen Ritchey (Fort Hays State) 20-14 (Dec 4-4)

180

Isabella Renfro (29-9) place is unknown and scored 7.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Naomi Simon (Iowa) 37-3 won by fall over Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State) 29-9 (Fall 2:40)
• Cons. Round 1 - Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State) 29-9 won by tech fall over Aniyah Griffin (Huntingdon) 19-18 (TF-1.5 2:00 (10-0))
• Cons. Round 2 - Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State) 29-9 won by fall over Mia Gaetjens (Adrian College) 27-16 (Fall 1:40)
• Cons. Round 3 - Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State) 29-9 won by fall over Isabella Phillips (Gannon University) 35-8 (Fall 2:11)

207

Hailey Conley (19-17) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Rewa Chababo (Wartburg) 28-7 won by decision over Hailey Conley (Fort Hays State) 19-17 (Dec 5-1)
• Cons. Round 1 - Hailey Conley (Fort Hays State) 19-17 won by decision over Tayana Labady (Elmira College) 19-12 (Dec 7-4)
• Cons. Round 2 - Hailey Conley (Fort Hays State) 19-17 won by decision over Ella Beam (Presbyterian) 18-9 (Dec 2-2)
• Cons. Round 3 - Destiny Vaughans (Greensboro College) 24-5 won by fall over Hailey Conley (Fort Hays State) 19-17 (Fall 2:40)