Matside Updates from the Olympic Team Trials

Dymond Guilford vs. Precious Bell in the 2020 U23 finals. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

Derek Levendusky reporting

Follow along with live updates during the event right here.

People are starting to come in. Music pumping. Lots of excitement in the building. I noticed some last minute changes in some of the brackets 76 kg has moving pieces. Welker was on bottom side but has been moved up to wrestle #4 seed Randi Beltz in first round. Interesting matchup. Beltz was a light 76 kg, like Welker is now, at the 2019 Senior Nationals where she qualified. WCAP wrestler that’s very tough but can she slow down Welker’s relentless attacks?

Here come the women.

50 kg Round of 16
Victoria Anthony makes quick work of Fowler with tech fall.

Golston scoring early and often, though Gomez shows some fight and gets on the board. Golston 14-3.

Good match between Campbell & Gould. Close until Campbell gets the fall.

Fearnside quick tech fall over Trevino.

Pham vs. Alleida Martinez. Been wanting to see this. Martinez looking good. Gets 12-2 tech. Pham didn’t lose all season. First loss since U23 I think.

Oh boy. Mortimer vs. Shilson. Let’s go. Shilson on the attack early. Mortimer showing mettle. Shilson too much. Gets the fall.

BREAKING: Ummm…just heard J’Den Cox didn’t make weight. He was late for the weigh-ins & they had to follow rules. WOW.

Back to our regularly scheduled program…

Here comes 53 kg. Round of 16
NAIA phenom Peyton Prussin against NCAA hammer Jaslynn Gallegos. Tight match early though Gallegos won the position game throughout the match. 10-0

Ronna Heaton vs. NAIA champ Jasmine Hernandez. Heaton’s offense too much. 10-0

Felicity Taylor vs. King freshman sensation Melanie Mendoza. They’ve had close matches before. Taylor beat her 3-2 in NCAA event semis. Same score this time! 3-2 Taylor

Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa) vs. Alisha Howk. Howk can score points! 13-2

Cam Guerin vs. Amanda Martinez. Rematch of finals of National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships. Guerin dominates. 10-0

57 kg Round of 16
NAIA Wrestler of the Year Bridgette Duty vs. 2019 Senior Nats runner-up Tiana Jackson. Jackson hasn’t wrestled in a while. Duty is wrestling with a lot of confidence. Was up big, maybe 8-0? Lead withered as Jackson found her offense but Duty held on 8-6.

Battle of NCAA champs: Cheyenne Sisenstein (King) vs. Brenda Reyna (Bearcat WC). Sisenstein was ferocious. On attack from beginning. Reyna got to legs in first but couldn’t finish. Got one in second but Sisenstein wins it 8-2.

Veteran battle: Shauna Kemp vs. Lauren Louive. Louive 12-2

62 kg on deck
2020 WCWA champ Zoe Nowicki vs. Julia Salata. Salata all over Nowicki. Battle of Michigan natives. Salata wins 10-0

NCAA runner-up Ana Luciano vs. Last Chance winner Michaela Beck. Tight match. Was 1-0 at break. Luciano gets 3-2 win. Beck got a score late and almost won it at end.

Two NAIA champs: Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp (Midland) vs. top-10 ranked Desiree Zavala. Zavala countered everything. Good offense. Tech fall.

Jennifer Page vs. 2020 WCWA champ Morgan Norris. Page dominates. 10-0 at 2:42.

68 kg might not have any matches this round.

76 kg on mat
Kylie Welker vs. #4 seed Randi Beltz. This is gonna be a crazy one. Welker does it again. The high school junior gets the 12-2 tech fall.

NCAA champ #5 seeded Yelena Makoyed vs. 2x NCAA All-American Marlynne Deede. Makoyed wins it 12-2.

Sydneee Kimber vs. NAIA champ Jordan Nelson. Tough weight cut from 191 for Kimber. She was NCAA champ at 191. Nelson wins it 8-3.

NCAA runner-up #6 seed Joye Levendusky vs. Last Chance winner & 2x US Open champ Jackie Cataline. Cataline stingy. 3-0 win.

Chi Chi Nwankwo vs. Mariah Harris. Nwankwo was NAIA champ this year. First period fall for Nwankwo.

QUARTERS

50 kg
Big matches coming up! History & rivalry.

#5 Erin Golston vs. #4 Amy Fearnside. Fearnside scores economically throughout match. 7-0 win. She’ll face #1 Whitney Conder in semis.

#1 Whitney Conder vs. McKayla Campbell. Conder quick tech 12-0.

#3 Victoria Anthony vs. #6 Emily Shilson. Wow. Relentless offense from neutral and on the mat. 10-0 at :59 Victoria Anthony.

#2 Alyssa Lampe vs. Alleida Martinez. Lampe scores early and often. Leg attacks and counters all day. Wins it 11-2.

53 kg coming up
Felicity Taylor vs. #2 Areana Villaescusa. Villaescusa looks good, especially for not having wrestled in a while. 6-2 win

#3 Katherine Shai vs. #6 Alisha Howk. Shai looking like her same sharp self. Just too overwhelming. 10-0 tech fall.

#4 Alex Hedrick vs. #5 Ronna Heaton. Tight match between multiple time national teamer Hedrick & Cadet world champ Heaton. Hedrick tied it 2-2 at one point but challenge overturned it. Hedrick tried to find late takedown but lost it 4-0.

#1 Dominique Parrish vs. Jaslynn Gallegos. Parrish by fall at 1:48.

Lots of bricks today.

57kg
XMP vs. Bridgette Duty. Match of the day so far! Some wild exchanges in this one. XMP & Duty both looking to go big! Multiple 4’s in this match. They exchanged leads 3-4 times. XMP threw late 4 to win it 15-12!

#1 Jenna Burkert vs. NCAA champ Cheyenne Sisenstein. Burkert makes it look easy against a talented young wrestler 11-0.

#10 Lauren Louive vs. #2 Alli Ragan. Looked like their other matches. Ragan all over Louive. Won it with a headlock for the fall at 1:57.

#5 Cameron Guerin vs. #4 Abby Nette. Last time they met it was Nette 11-9 at 2019 Senior Nationals. A battle of two very savvy wrestlers. Guerin can be funky. She holds on 11-8!

62 kg
#7 Desiree Zavala vs. #2 Macey Kilty. Zavala scores first but Kilty gets a takedown & match-ending lace to win it 12-2.

#1 Maya Nelson vs. Ana Luciano. Nelson was a 2017 Junior world champion. Luciano shows fight but falls 10-4.

#4 Emma Bruntil vs. #5 Jennifer Page. Recent rivarly. Bruntil won last two 2-1 & 2-2. Page was a junior world bronze medalist. This time its Page 5-2.

## Mallory Velte vs. #6 Julia Salata. 2018 world bronze vs. 2019 Pan Am gold. Scrappy match between two veterans. 7-3 Velte. She’ll face Kilty in semis, a match she lost by tech fall at the Captain’s Cup.

68 on the way…finally
#1 Forrest Molinari vs. Felicity Bryant. Molinari dominates. 10-0

#3 Kennedy Blades vs. #7 Rachel Watters. Blades made it look too easy. 10-0 over the 2020 WCWA champ.

#4 Ashlynn Ortega vs. #5 Alara Boyd. Ortega is 2x Cadet world medalist. They hit at the 2020 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships and it was Boyd. This time its Boyd again 5-2.

#2 Alexandria Glaude vs. #8 Sienna Ramirez. Glaude was 2x national champ for McKendree. Ramirez just won the NAIA title. All Glaude. Never really in trouble. Wins 5-1.

76 kg
#1 Dymond Guilford vs. #9 Jordan Nelson. Guilford gets it done fast with a lace at :43.

#14 Kylie Welker vs. #5 Yelena Makoyed. The high school junior against the NCAA 170-pound champ. Welker gets 6 very quickly. Takedown & two laces. Makoyed got a takedown and was close on a few more but walker’s offense too much. 11-4 over the NCWWC champ.

#2 Victoria Francis vs. #7 Chi Chi Nwanwko. 8-4 match when Francis finds a lace and ends it 14-4.

#3 Precious Bell vs. #12 Jackie Cataline. What a match! Cataline comes back to win it 11-10 and get the upset over Precious Bell!

CONSIS

50 kg
Sage Mortimer vs. Charlotte Fowler, Part 2. Rematch of Last Chance finals. This time it’s much closer. More Mortimer Greco work but Fowler was tough on ties & held position with 2-on-1s and body locks. Still, Mortimer too talented in the upper body ties. Mortimer wins it 9-6.

Esthela Trevino vs. 2021 NCWWC champion Angie Gomez. Gomez wins it 13-5.

Good one. #7 Alleida Martinez vs. #8 Aleeha Gould. Great defense by Gould! Wins 6-2

Another good one! #9 McKayla Campbell vs. #10 Nina Pham. The NAIA 101 champ vs. the NAIA 109 champ. Pham goes big. Campbell was limping after the break. 14-4 Pham.

76 kg
#4 Randi Beltz (who lost to Welker) vs. #13 Marlynne Deede. Beltz by fall at 1:31. Was ahead 4-2 at time of fall.

Next Round Consis
50: Emily Shilson takes care of Angie Gomez in 21 seconds. 10-0 to advance in consis.

50 kg: Erin Golston vs. Sage Mortimer. Mortimer trying to go upper body. No way through Golston’s defense, counters, and leg attacks. 11-0 in second period.

53: Good one! Felicity Taylor vs. Peyton Prussin. All Taylor as she gets a 12-0 tech fall.

53: Melanie Mendoza vs. Jaslynn Gallegos. Battle of young college stars. Gallegos wrestling well today. 10-0 tech fall.

57: Marissa Gallegos vs. Alex Hedrick. Rematch of NCAA national semis in 2020, which Hedrick won. Hedrick advances with 10-0 tech fall.

57: Brenda Reyna vs. Lauren Louive. Reyna gets to her signature single but can’t finish against Louive’s defense. 13-4 win for Louive.

57: Alisha Howk vs. NAIA champ Jasmine Hernandez. This one is all Howk. Fall at 1:54.

57: NCAA/NCWWC champ Cheyenne Sisenstein vs. Shauna Kemp. Tight match until Sisenstein gets the fall at 4:39 to advance!

57: NAIA champ Bridgette Duty vs. Amanda Martinez (NCAA runner-up). Wild match with lots of scoring. Challenge stoppage into second period. CRAZY MATCH! Martinez hits two 4’s. Duty scores as time expires but Martinez had criteria and wins 12-12.

62: Tiana Jackson vs. 2019 winner of Miranda Medal Abby Nette. Nette gets to leg attacks several times in first period. …And keeps doing it in the second. Nothing there for Jackson. Nette wins 12-1.

62: NAIA champ Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp vs. NCWWC runner-up Ana Luciano. Luciano wins it.

62: #4 seed Emma Bruntil vs. 2020 WCWA champ Zoe Nowicki. When they last met it was all Bruntil with a tech fall at the Missouri Valley Open in fall of 2019. Whoa. Nowicki had Bruntil on her back as time expired in the first. Great match but Bruntil gets it 17-6 in football score.

62: #8 vs. #7 as Michaela Beck faces Desiree Zavala. Zavala works fast. Gets the 10-0 tech fall with a takedown to leg lace.

62: #6 Julia Salata vs. 2020 WCWA champ Morgan Norris. Salata shows her experience. 10-0 tech fall.

76: NAIA champ Chi Chi Nwankwo vs. NCWWC champ Sydnee Kimber. Kimber was up 10-6 when she got the fall at 5:51.

76: #3 Precious Bell vs. #4 Randi Beltz. 10-6 when Beltz med fits out.

76: Rematch of NCAA national finals. #5 Yelena Makoyed vs. #6 Joye Levendusky. Same score as national finals as Makoyed wins it 12-2.

76: NAIA champ Jordan Nelson vs. Mariah Harris. Nelson threw a 4-pointer in second period to seal it 9-1.

SEMIS

68 kg will be on deck at 6:45 pm CT, 7:45 pm EST.

68 kg: #1 Forrest Molinari vs #5 Alara Boyd
Here we go. Molinari, in typical Molinari style, able to shut down Boyd in first period. Boyd gets on board in second but not enough. Heavy hands in that match from both sides. 4-3 Molinari. She’ll get Kennedy Blades who beat Alexandria Glaude.

68 kg: #3 Kennedy Blades vs #2 Alex Glaude
This one is fascinating. HS junior against 2x national champ/U23 world medalist. Glaude slowing Blades down, but not able to stop her from getting on the board. 3-0 at the break. Blades does it! 5-0 and into Challenge Tournament finals! Will face Forrest Molinari.

57 kg next…

57 kg: #1 Jenna Burkert vs #5 Cam Guerin
Dang. Burkert making it look way to easy so far. What a beast. 11-0 tech fall over Guerin.

57 kg: #3 Xochitl Mota-Pettis vs #2 Alli Ragan
Rematch of Ragan’s shocking loss to XMP at Senior Nationals last fall.
Ragan gets 2-0 lead but XMP comes back with takedown in first. Ragan keeps scoring and wins it 9-2. Sets the record straight against XMP and advances to Challenge Tournament finals against Burkert.

Meanwhile, crowd going wild for Bo Nickal against Zahid. Hometown hero.

62 kg in the hole.

62 kg: #3 Mallory Velte vs #2 Macey Kilty
Here we go. Last time it was all Kilty, but Velte was just returning to the mat. I expect this one to be much tighter. This one VERY different already. 2-0 Velte at the break. Kilty gets 4 in the second to win it 4-2 & advance to Challenge Tournament finals.

62 kg: #1 Maya Nelson vs #5 Jennifer Page. Nelson hit a 4 in the second and held the lead for a 6-1 victory. Advances to Challenge Tournament finals to face Kilty.

Time for 76 kg…

76 kg: Dymond Guilford vs Kylie Welker
Can the high school junior stay with Guilford? About to find out.
Apparently she can. Scores early and doesn’t look back! Shocking 8-0 win for the high schooler. She’ll face #2 Victoria Francis.

76 kg: #12 Jackie Cataline vs #2 Victoria Francis
After winning Last Chance, Cataline stayed hot in early rounds to make semi.
Cataline had early lead, but Francis kept getting to her front head money position. Francis storms back with 9 unanswered to win it 9-3 & advance to finals. Cataline took her shoes off at the end of the match as a sign of retirement.

Time for 53 kg semis!

53 kg: Katherine Shai vs Areana Villaescusa
It was 4-4 Villaescusa last time they met.
2-0 at break. Shai hasn’t looked in danger. Brick wall defense so far.
Shai wins it! 2-1 & onto Challenge Tournament finals.

53 kg: Dominique Parrish vs Ronna Heaton
Parrish looks calm. The younger Heaton pacing & ready to go.
UPSET!!! Ronna gets the fall at 5:57! It’ll be Shai vs. Heaton Challenge tournament final.

50 kg
50 kg: #1 Whitney Conder vs #4 Amy Fearnside
Upset! Fearnside gets the fall over Conder at 5:24! She was leading 4-1 at the time.

50 kg: #3 Victoria Anthony vs #2 Alyssa Lampe
Rematch of 2019 Senior Nats finals when Lampe pinned Anthony.
What a match! Anthony does it! After hitting an early 4-pointer, Lampe comes back to make it 6-6 with Anthony holding criteria. After post-match challenge, Anthony holds on for 7-6 win.

CHALLENGE TOURNAMENT FINALS!

62 kg #1 Maya Nelson vs. #2 Macey Kilty
Not much scoring in the first period. 1-0 Kilty on a pushout. Kilty was in deep but only got 1.
Kilty’s defense was unyielding & smothering. Nothing there for Nelson.
Final: Kilty over Nelson 5-0!
She’ll face Miracle in best-of-three tomorrow night.

Kilty signing autographs for kids on the way out of arena.

57 kg #1 Jenna Burkert vs. #2 Alli Ragan
Massive headlock for Burkert!! Gets the fall at 2:11.
Onto the championship best-of-three to face 2016 gold medalist Helen Maroulis.

68 kg #1 Forrest Molinari vs. #3 Kennedy Blades
HERE WE GO!
Kennedy comes out, in typical Blades fashion, firing away and starts with 4 straight before Forrest gets a pushout. It was 4-1 at the break.
It’s all Blades! Finishes off the 2x 5th in the world Molinari 11-1. She’ll face world champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock tomorrow night in a best-of-three.

76 kg #14 Kylie Welker vs. #2 Victoria Francis
WELKER DOES IT!!! Surreal! Beats Senior level vet Francis 6-3. She’ll wrestle Adeline Gray for the Olympic spot tomorrow.

53 kg #5 Ronna Heaton vs. #2 Katherine Shai
What’s up with these young wrestlers?! Heaton gets the fall over Shai! She’ll face Jacarra Winchester tomorrow night for the Olympic spot.

50 kg #4 Amy Fearnside vs. #3 Victoria Anthony
Anthony with the quick tech fall! Takedowns & laces to button it up at :59 mark. She’ll face Sarah Hildebrandt tomorrow!