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Nwachukwu wins at Soldier Salute
Top-ranked Iowa Wesleyan star leads women’s wrestling team to successful weekend
Andy Krutsinger
Jan. 2, 2023 2:14 pm
CORALVILLE — The Iowa Wesleyan women’s wrestling team continues to compete with the best of the best, and they had to be at their best at the women’s Soldier Salute collegiate wrestling tournament over the weekend.
In a two-day event held on Thursday and Friday, the Tigers competed against a variety of teams that included, among others, an unattached team from the University of Iowa.
Iowa Wesleyan finished fourth overall, scoring 118.5 points on the day. The Tigers were second among the collegiate team race, behind Life University, which scored 129.
The team was once again led by top-ranked Adaugo Nwachukwu, who wasn’t fazed by a tough 136-pound bracket. Nwachukwu recorded three tech falls and one pin in her tear through the bracket.
Nwachukwu starter her day with a 10-0 tech fall over Michal Buska of Tiffin University. She pinned Columbia’s Victoria Ngai in just 40 seconds. She then advanced to the final with a semifinal tech fall over Life University’s Sarah Savidge, beating her 10-0, and rolled past Bridgette Duty of Army’s World Class Athlete Program, beating her on another tech fall, this time 12-0.
Also racking up points for the Tigers were both JoAnna Vanderwood and Destiny Campbell, who each competed at 130 pounds. Vanderwood took second, and Campbell finished third.
Vanderwood had two battle back after a couple of losses in the first two rounds, but got things going with a 4-2 victory over teammate Nonnie Justice in the fourth round. She would eventually go on to win four matches, including a tiebreaker on a 4-4 decision against Campbell.
Campbell won four matches on the day, two via a pinfall and two via a technical fall. Her only other loss came against eventual champion Victoria Baez-Dillone of Umpqua Community College.
Grace Gray competed in the 191-pound weight class. She went 2-2 on the day, defeating Samantha Ruano of William Penn twice, once on a pin, in 5:43, and once via a 2-1 decision. Her only two losses of the day were against Riley Dempewolf of Indiana Tech.
Faith Cole racked up third-place finish at 116 pounds. Cole started the tournament off with two pins, but lose out in the semifinals against Army WCAP’s Aleeah Gould.
Still, Cole fought back in the consolation semis, beating Paige Denke of Life University on a 12-1 technical fall. In the third-place match, Cole pinned Indiana Tech’s Emma Jones in 2:59.
Others to collect Top-5 finishes include Justice, who placed fourth at the 130-pound weight class. Alaina Sunlin was fourth at 101 pounds. Mia Palumbo took fourth at 109 pounds, and Michaela Blume finished fifth in the 143-pound consolation bracket.
The Tiger women’s wrestling team will next compete at the 2023 National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Multi-Division National Duals Championships this weekend. Those duals will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday and Saturday.
TEAM SCORES
1. Unattached (U of Iowa) 162.5
2. Life University 129
3. Army WCAP 128.5
4. Iowa Wesleyan 118.5
5. Indiana Tech 116
6. Tiffin University 60.5
7. Columbia 39
8. Umpqua Community College 34
9. William Penn 28.5
10. North Carolina 16.5
11. Cornell College 0
Adaugo Nwachukwu (pictured) won her bracket over the weekend as the Iowa Wesleyan women’s wrestling team competed in the Soldier’s Salute tournament in Coralville. (Hunter Moeller/The Union)