IW women place third in conference championship

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. — The Iowa Wesleyan Women’s Wrestling Team traveled west to compete in Saturday’s Heart of American Athletic Conference Championships. The Tigers walked away with a Top-3 finish.

The Tigers walked away with a third-place finish, tallying 63.5 points as a team. Iowa Wesleyan topped William Penn University, Baker University, Central Methodist, and Waldorf University.

While the Tigers had success as a team, two wrestlers also emerged with first place finishes. Mia Palumbo and Adaugo Nwachukwu both dominated their weight classes.

Palumbo wrestled at 109 on the day. She received a bye in the quarterfinal round before winning by fall in one minute and thirty one seconds in the semifinals and by tech fall, 10-0, in the finals.

Nwachukwu picked up a first place finish at 136. She won by decision, 8-2, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals and finals, she won by fall in 54 seconds and 2:51.

Alaina Sunlin (101) and Joanna Vanderwood (130) followed up with second place finishes.

Sunlin received a first-round bye, and then picked up a tech fall victory, 10-0, in the semifinals. In the final, she fought for nearly five minutes, but was pinned in 4:50 to place second.

Vanderwood dominated her first two opponents. She won by tech fall, 10-0, and then by fall in 55 seconds. She lost a close 4-0 decision in the final securing the second place finish.

Destiny Campbell was the last Tiger to place in the tournament. Campbell ended the competition with a third place podium finish. She dropped her opening match by fall, before battling back in the consolation bracket. After winning a tight decision, 7-6, she pinned her next two opponents to grab third.

Rounding out the Tigers was Zoi Smith at 123 pounds. She was defeated by fall in her first match of the day. After reviving a bye in the first round of the consolation bracket, Smith was pinned in her semifinal match.

Now with conference tournament out of the way, Iowa Wesleyan will now look toward the NAIA Women’s National Invitational. The tournament will take place on March 11-12 in Jamestown, North Dakota.