Four Eagles qualify for nationals

By Whitley Reder – Reporter

The CSC women’s wrestling team competed in the NCWWC Region V Tournament on Sunday in Grand Junction, Colorado. 

The Eagles traveled to Grand Junction, while nine teams converged on Brownson Arena for the event. There were spots on the line to advance to the NCWWC National Championships in March. 

The Eagles came away with one individual champion and four qualifiers in total for the national championships. 

However, a strong showing from Colorado Mesa allowed the Mavericks to have 12 national qualifiers, giving the Eagles’ RMAC rival the regional title. Mavericks’ head coach, Travis Mercado, also ended up being the Region V Coach of the Year.

The four CSC qualifiers, Kinsey Smith, senior of Windsor, Colorado, Isabell Ortiz, freshman of Lakin, Kansas, Kayley Garcia, freshman of Vista, California, and Kamila Montenegro, junior of Las Vegas, helped the Eagles accomplish a third-place team finish with 123.5 points. 

Garcia, CSC’s first regional champion in the program’s two-year history, defeated three wrestlers, fighting her way to the 143-pound title round.

Garcia earned her lone pin of the day in 2:31 against Diriann Porras of the University of the Ozarks, of Clarksville, Arkansas.  

Smith received a first-round bye and advanced to the quaterfinals. 

However, Jennesis Martinez of Colorado Mesa, the 101-pound champion, pinned Smith in 2:43, in the quarterfinal round.

Smith then had to wrestle teammate Britley Lopez, freshman of Borger, Texas. Smith won, which unfortunately knocked Lopez out of the running for the national tournament.

“I think our team was very focused this season and worked very hard as a whole to achieve our individual and team goals,” Smith said. 

Ortiz pinned Carisa Epling of Colorado Mesa in 1:54 in the first round. She bounced back from her lone loss of the day with back-to-back pins to finish third in the 116-pound bracket. 

Montenegro took silver in the 170-pound weight class. She pinned Aubrey Yauger of Texas Women’s University in 4:55 before falling to Emily Cue, of Simon Fraser University, of Burnaby, British Columbia, in the championship. 

The four Eagles who qualified for nationals will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the postseason competition on March 3 and 4.