JAMESTOWN, N.D. -- Lily Avalos and
River Todd became the first two Vanguard women's wrestling All-Americans at the 2023-24 NAIA National Tournament the past two days. The duo battled hard through the consolation bracket, with Avalos netting fourth in the 130-pound division and Todd eighth in the 136-pound class. The entire team punched above expectations, as the Lions finished tied for 13th out of the 32 teams with 34.5 points.
"We have made such great strides towards success here in this program's second year of existence," said Head Coach
Joe Evano. "We made history with our first All-Americans. I'm just very proud of this team. I can't wait to see what they can accomplish in year three. Let's go!"
What Happened?
101 Pounds
Abbeygael Cabuag took on Elizabeth Dosado of Cumberlands (Ky.) and the two were hard-pressed to find a true advantage. Cabuag made three-straight takedowns but Dosado made two of her own to close out the first frame. Ahead 6-4, Cabuag increased her lead with the first takedown of the second, but Dosado scored four unanswered points to tie things at 8-8. Cabuag wished there was overtime because Dosado won due to the tiebreaker rules, denying Cabuag from moving on. That took her to the consolation side of the bracket where she met up with Liana Ferreira of Southern Oregon. The Raider had bested Cabuag at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament and though the Lion put up a great battle, Ferreira would win 10-0 to knock Cabuag out of the dance.
109 Pounds
Angie Dill had a late change to her schedule, as the powers that be rearranged the bracket to place Dill against top-seeded Mia Palumbo of William Penn (Iowa). Dill got one takedown in the first and fought valiantly in the matchup, but fell 13-3. Moving to the consolation bracket, Dill faced Judy Sandoval of Grand View (Iowa) and wrecked the Viking, as she picked up a 12-1 victory. That brought her up against Gabrielle Medeiros of Campbellsville (Ky.) and Dill struck for the first takedown of the match, but Medeiros then flipped Dill for two takedowns. Trailing 4-2, Dill did not let the Campbellsville wrestler score again, as she put up five straight points and then made a pin of Medeiros to advance. Pitted against #6 Tehani Soares of Indiana Tech, Dill had a lot of confidence and gave it everything she had, but Soares was faster, and she made a pin to end Dill's run.
123 Pounds
Loretta Lopez entered the mat against top-seeded Cristelle Rodriguez of Doane (Neb.) and Lopez gave a good accounting of herself but fell 10-0. She responded well against Kaitlin Castro of Cumberlands by rolling over the Patriot with a 10-0 decision. That got her into a bout against Haley Narahara of Menlo and for the third bout in a row, the score would be 10-0. Unfortunately, it was the Oak who racked up all the points, as the noble run by Lopez came to an end.
130 Pounds
Avalos trounced Chloe Herrick of Missouri Baptist 10-0 to start her tournament off in grand style. That slated Avalos against Carolina Moreno of SOU and Avalos fought the best she could, but she could not get a score, as Moreno picked up a 10-0 win. Moved to the consolation side of the bracket, Avalos took out some anger on Erica Grant of Evergreen State (Wash.), battering her way to a 10-0 win in just 80 seconds. That pitted Avalos against #5 Elizabeth Duvall of Texas Wesleyan and Avalos got two points out of the gate. Duvall then imposed her will on the struggle, as she picked up four points in a row. But the tide rapidly changed, as Avalos beat her guard for two takedowns and then converted that into a pin to advance.
Her next assignment was #6 Janiah Jones of Missouri Baptist and Avalos struggled in the opening period, as she fell behind 10-2. Undeterred, Avalos blew the doors off Jones in the second half, racking up 10 points to leapfrog Jones to take a 12-10 edge. Jones got a late point, but time expired, as Avalos moved on with the 12-11 decision win. Battling for the third step of the podium, Avalos drew #7 Devin Patton of William Penn and though Avalos gave it her all, Patton had her number and claimed a 10-0 win. But the fourth-place result is the highest so far in the young program's history.
"This achievement could not have been accomplished if it were not for my faith, family, coaches, teammates, and practice partner
River Todd. There's no greater feeling than doing what you love with the people that you love. I'm proud of this team and so grateful to be a part of it," said Avalos.
136 Pounds
Todd took on Aileen Lester of Ottawa (Kan.) and Todd got the first two takedowns to lead 6-0 within the first two minutes. Lester then got a four-point takedown but Todd rolled that into a reversal and then a pin to advance. That landed her in a quarterfinal matchup with #2 Andrea Schlabach of Grand View and though Todd fought fiercely for a win, Schlabach would win 11-1. In her first consolation match, Todd took on Texas Wesleyan's sixth-seeded Mattison Parker and Parker got the first takedown. Todd then smacked her around the mat, as the Lion picked up eight unanswered points to take an 8-2 edge into the second period. Parker got the first takedown of the second but Todd responded with a takedown of her own a minute later. Though the Ram got a four-point move with about a minute to go to close the gap to 10-8, Todd remained steadfast and got a takedown with 22 seconds left to secure a 12-8 victory.
That placed the Lion in a tussle with Gianna Morena of Friends (Kan.) and though she did all she could, Todd could not muster a point, falling 10-0. She then was placed in the challenge for seventh and there she squared off against Menlo's Stephanie Chavez. Todd held nothing back, but the Oak got two takedowns and merged that into a pin, as Todd finished eighth in the bracket.
"Hard work prevails," said Todd. "Do it on the days you do not want to. I am still so new to the wrestling world and I have learned so much about wrestling and myself. I'm excited to keep growing and pushing towards the top. I am incredibly thankful to those supporting and pushing me, I couldn't have done it without them."
Piper Hall took an early lead against Willow Barnes of Missouri Valley College, as the Lion scored the first five points of the contest. Unfortunately, Barnes had a better second period, winning the frame 10-1 to surprise Hall with a 10-6 decision victory. Hall went to the consolation bracket and her opponent turned out to be Lily Gough of Central Methodist (Mo.). Hall picked up three points during the bout and did her best, but the Eagle outscored Hall 8-3 to advance and knock Hall out of the Tournament.
170 Pounds
Lily El-Masri started off well against Aalyah Villarreal of Texas Wesleyan, as she got the first takedown, but Villarreal made a shocking pin of El-Masri as the first period came to a close. While not the desired result, El-Masri did not let that get her down, as she was pitted against Aime Hernandez-Perez of York (Neb.) in the consolation bracket. The VU wrestler returned to form to breeze past Hernandez-Perez 9-2 to advance.
Abena Adu worked hard in the first period against Faith Macharia of MBU, as Adu played good defense and got a takedown to trail 5-2. But as the seconds ran out in the first period, Macharia snuck past her guard for a startling pin. Adu looked strong in her consolation matchup against Saiheron Preciado-Mesa of Cumberlands. Preciado-Meza made the first takedown, but Adu fired back with two takedowns in a row to vault ahead 4-2. But the Patriot got two more takedowns and turned those into a pin as the first came to a close to give Adu her second loss.
El-Masri avenged Adu by taking care of Preciado-Meza, as the VU wrestler surged to a 5-0 lead during the first period. The York wrestler got a takedown in the second frame but that was it, as El-Masri cruised to a 9-2 decision to advance. But the VU wrestler then ran into #7 Bo Geibe of Siena Heights (Mich.) and while she gave it her all, El-Masri could only net one takedown. After her two points, Geibe put up 15 in a row to knock the Lion out of her second NAIA Tournament.
