TIFFIN, Ohio — With Emily Shilson (SO, Maple Grove, Minn./Mounds View HS) leading the way with her third collegiate national title, the Augsburg University women’s wrestling team claimed five All-Americans and placed fifth at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, held on Saturday at Tiffin University.
Shilson, who won two national titles (Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association and NCWWC) last season, repeated her NCWWC crown with a dominating performance at 109 pounds. She scored three 10-0 technical fall victories — her opening win in 48 seconds over Samantha Larsen of King (Tenn.), her semifinal win in 1:13 over No. 4-ranked Cassy Lopez of Presbyterian (S.C.), and the title victory in 3:28 over No. 2-ranked Aleeah Gould of King. The win was her second 10-0 technical fall over Gould this season, after beating her in the Captains Cup freestyle wrestling event in February.
Shilson finished her second collegiate season with an 8-0 record, with six technical falls and two pins. She has yet to lose a collegiate match in her career; now 22-0 with eight pins and 12 technical falls.
As a team, Augsburg finished fifth in the tournament, held for NCAA schools with varsity women’s wrestling programs, with 88.5 points, an improvement over its ninth-place finish in its inaugural season last year. Augsburg’s five All-Americans bring the program’s two-year total to 12 (nine NCWWC, three WCWA).
Marlynne Deede (SO, Springville, Utah/Springville HS) earned All-American honors for the second time in her college career, placing third at 155 pounds. She went 4-1 on the day with three pins and a technical fall. Ranked No. 3 nationally entering the tournament, she topped the No. 6, No. 4 and No. 8-ranked wrestlers during her tournament run. After a semifinal loss, Deede bounced back with a 1:26 pin of No. 4-ranked Viktorya Torres of King (Pa.) and a 9-8 win over No. 8-ranked Malea Palahniuk of North Central (Ill.) in the third-place match — her third win and second pin over Palahniuk this season.
Deede finished the season with a 10-2 record, with five technical falls and three pins. In her college career, she now has a 21-13 record with 10 technical falls and seven pins. She finished sixth at last year’s NCWWC national meet.
Autumn Flanigan (FY, Troy, Mo./Troy Buchanan HS) placed third at 136 pounds to finish her first college season at 7-1. The No. 6-ranked 136-pounder entering the meet, Flanigan claimed three wins over higher-ranked wrestlers — a 10-0, 52-second technical fall win over No. 3-ranked Dalia Garibay of Colorado Mesa in the quarterfinals, a 13-7 win over Julia Padilla of Emmanuel (S.C.) in the wrestlebacks and a 2:42 pin of No. 5-ranked Michelle Camacho of McKendree in the third-place match. Flanigan finished her inaugural college season with a 7-1 record, with four technicals and a pin.
Kya Rybachek (FY, Mountain Iron, Minn./Hibbing HS) finished fourth at 136 pounds, going 3-2 on the day to finish her season with a 6-5 record. Rybachek claimed two pins and a technical fall during the tournament, with a 2:23 pin of No. 5-ranked Zoe Nowicki of Adrian (Mich.) an a 1:19 pin of No. 7-ranked Kaylee Lacy of Colorado Mesa.
After seeing her inaugural college season end prematurely last year with an injury, Faith Tuttle (SO, North St. Paul, Minn./North St. Paul HS) earned her first collegiate All-American honor with a seventh-place finish at 170 pounds. Tuttle went 3-2 on the day with two pins, and capped her day with an 8-4 decision over No. 8-ranked Jasmine Hale of Adrian. Tuttle finished this season at 4-3 with three pins.
Sierra Brown Ton (JR, Allen, Texas/Einstein HS) went 1-2 at 130 pounds for the Auggies, while Melissa Jacobs (SO, Belle Plaine, Minn./Belle Plaine HS (Scott West), 191 pounds), Destynie Pacheco (SO, El Paso, Texas/Pebble Hills HS, 155 pounds) and Kahlea Jolly (SO, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS, 143 pounds) also competed at the tournament.
National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships Results
Check out Auggies Women’s Wrestling at athletics.augsburg.edu.
