One day after winning a national duals championship, there was no apparent letdown for the Grays Harbor College women’s wrestling team.
GHC had five weight-class winners en route to a team victory at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Women’s National Freestyle Invitational on Sunday at Hoquiam High School.
Led by individual winners Maysa Brown (130 pounds), Marissa Riojas (136), Courtney Jones (143), Hailee Stoken (155) and Reneah Urteste (235) as the Lady Chokers tallied 108.5 points to beat rival Ottawa University by 13.5 points, one day after edging Ottawa for the duals national championship.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Grays Harbor College’s Maysa Brown, left, jostles with Utah Tech’s Kailani Bicoy during a 130-pound match at the NCWA Women’s National Freestyle Invitational on Sunday in Hoquiam.
“It’s a team effort. There is a lot of support,” GHC head coach Kevin Pine said. “Whenever any one of our girls wrestled, I don’t think there was anyone here louder than our team. So they were super supportive of each other, they feed off each other and I’m honored to be the coach in their corner.”
Brown pinned Utah Tech’s Kailani Bicoy at 1:21 to win the 130-pound weight class, capping off her three-win performance.
Riojas beat Washington State’s Haley Billings via pinfall at 2:40 to win the 136 pound title.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Grays Harbor College’s Marissa Riojas, right, defeated Washington State’s Haley Billings during a 136-pound match at the NCWA Women’s National Freestyle Invitational on Sunday at Hoquiam High School.
GHC’s Courtney Jones had one of the busiest days for the Lady Chokers, capping off a four-win performance with a pinfall victory at 2:00 over Colorado State’s Anastasia Fucci to claim the 143-pound championship.
Former Elma standout Hailee Stoken went 3-0 on the day, defeating Utah Tech’s Ashley Lavarius via fall at 2:12 to win at 155 pounds.
Urteste continued her dominance with four pinfall wins on Sunday. The defending 190-pound national champion wrestled up a weight class and placed first, showing a great deal of acumen with a 39-second pinfall win over Ottawa’s Evelyn Coronado in the final round.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Grays Harbor College acknowledges her teammates after securing her fourth victory at the NCWA Women’s National Freestyle Invitational on Sunday at Hoquiam High School.
“I think this weekend, we really all pulled together and supported each other more than usual,” Urteste said of the Lady Chokers’ success. “The girls last year had some rivalry with Ottawa and we wanted to get first because they got first last year. I tried to explain to (my teammates) the beef we had. I felt like we were just excited and we just all came together and just cheered each other on.”
Other placers for GHC were Aliya Hammons (116 pounds, 2nd), Cassidy Rehder (155, 3rd), Gloria Hudson (130, 4th), Marinthia Mendoza (143, 4th) and Eden Lopez (101, 5th).
“Even the ones that weren’t champions, we saw some great improvements,” Pine said. “Some of the girls that have been pinned by some of their opponents earlier this year, today, we beat a couple and had some really close matches. It shows that we’re doing something right.”
Urteste added they Lady Chokers kept the right mindset after Saturday’s dual-meet win, leading to Sunday’s victorious performance.
“Our coach always said the most important thing is to have fun, and we’re just having fun,” she said. “I woke up before my alarm and I was ready. … We just want to be here.”
Full results available at trackwrestling.com.
Team results
1, Grays Harbor College 108.5 points. 2, Ottawa University (Arizona) 95. 3, Utah Tech 90. 4, Washington State 68. 5, Big Bend Community College 36. 6, Colorado State 28. 7, Western Washington 19. 8 University of Washington 11.
GHC placements
101 pounds: 5, Eden Lopez.
116: 2, Aliya Hammons.
130: 1, Maysa Brown. 4, Gloria Hudson.
136: 1, Marissa Riojas.
143: 1, Courtney Jones. 4, Marinthia Mendoza.
155: 1, Hailee Stoken. 3, Cassidy Rehder.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Grays Harbor College head coach Kevin Pine, far left, and the Lady Chokers won the team title at the NCWA Women’s National Freestyle Invitational on Sunday at Hoquiam High School.
