Four Eagles soar to Nationals
In its first regional tournament of the program, Chadron State women’s wrestling team excelled in matches and four Eagles booked their ticket to nationals during the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Coalition (NCWWC) Regional Championships Sunday at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois.
The four who made it to nationals are Kinsey Smith, junior of Windsor, Colorado; Taylor Lindstrom, freshman of Rapid City, South Dakota; Ryleigh Dye, freshman of Queen Creek, Arizona; and Kamila Montenegro, sophomore of Las Vegas.
Smith and Montenegro finished fourth in their brackets while Dye and Lindstrom finished fifth.
“I was really happy just to see everybody go out and just leave it all out on the mat like we talked about before,” Lindstrom said. “It was really awesome to see the excitement on their faces. None of them were really scared to wrestle this weekend.”
Dye took three wins Sunday in the 136-weight class, taking the most wins for the Eagles, 3-2. Despite being pinned twice by CMU Holly Beaudoin, redshirt freshman of Poulsbo, Washington, Dye came back in her other matches to win with a technical fall, and two pins.
Montenegro finished the day 2-2, also earning another pin for the season. After her first match ended with that pin, she went on to face a nationally ranked wrestler in 170-pound weight class who she took a tech fall to, 12-2. Her next two matches ended in a decision, where she took the win for one and the loss for the other.
“I think it’s extremely important that we had any qualifiers just because it shows the work ethic of what we do in the wrestling room,” Lindstrom said. “With this being a first-year program and sending almost half the team to nationals is amazing. I think it’s really important that we showed everybody what we are here for.”
In the 101-pound weight class, Smith and Lindstrom started their day against each other, which Smith took the win, 10-8.
Smith later on went to be pinned by a nationally ranked opponent and finished the day with a decision loss to Colorado Mesa University’s Kaylie Catalano, redshirt sophomore of Thornton, Colorado, 6-0.
Lindstrom also went up against Catalano, keeping the bout close but taking the loss in her consolation match.
Karstin Hollen, freshman of Mesa, Arizona, was 1-3 for the day. In her final match, she held onto a 9-6 lead before she was flipped and pinned, finishing sixth in the 143-pound weight class.
Lindstrom said that everyone had a really good weekend even if they didn’t qualify for nationals.
“It really showed out on the mat,” she said. “I think overall this weekend was just a huge success for all of us.”
The Eagles finished sixth of 10 teams in the regional standings with 30.5 points.
The four wrestlers will travel to Adrian, Michigan, for the NCWWC National Championships hosted by Adrian College Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5.