GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa will compete in the Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships in Adrian, Mich. this weekend. The opening rounds of the tournament are slated to begin on Friday with the all-American rounds scheduled for Saturday. The teams competing at the Championship are all NCAA sanctioned programs that will be a part of the NCAA emerging sport on August 1.
THE FIELD
The Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships will feature the top programs from the NCAA schools that sponsor women's wrestling as a varsity sport. New No. 1 Simon Fraser tops the field and will bring 13 wrestlers into the tournament.
Schools are allowed to bring up to a maximum of 15 total wrestlers but just 10 will score for the team and can only score one per weight class. Teams cannot enter more than two wrestlers at any weight. Brackets will be as small as 13 wrestlers at 101 pounds for example and as big as 26 wrestlers at 130 pounds.
No. 2 ranked McKendree will be the largest team in the field with the maximum of 15 total wrestlers in the tournament with Lakeland University in Wisconsin the smallest team with just six wrestlers.
PRE-SEEDS
Colorado Mesa will have eight seeded wrestlers in the field with two seeded at 130 pounds and two seeded at 143 pounds.
Jennesis Martinez is pre-seeded third at 101 pounds with a record of 16-4 with two of her four losses coming to top pre-seeded Jaclyn McNichols of King and No. 2 pre-seeded Pauline Granados of McKendree.
Marissa Gallegos is pre-seeded third at 123 pounds with a 20-3 record with all two of her three losses on the year to a wrestler that moved up a weight class in the tournament and the other coming to Cheyenne Sisenstein of King, pre-seeded first at the weight.
Freshman
Dalia Garibay is also pre-seeded third at 136 pounds with a 17-6 record on the year. Garibay holds a win over top pre-seed in the weight class Emma Bruntil of McKendree and has never faced No. 2 pre-seed Lauren Mason.
Anja Tschohl (No. 5 at 116 pounds),
Sierra Brown Ton (No. 6 at 130 pounds),
Cindy Zepeda (No. 7 at 130 pounds),
Alma Mendoza (No. 6 at 143 pounds) and
Kaylee Lacy (No. 7 at 143 pounds) are all in the pre-seeds as well.
DUAL CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
Jolynn Harris is scheduled to make a little bit of personal history beginning this weekend. Harris is scheduled to wrestle at 136 pounds at the Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships with a shot at finishing in the top eight and earning all-American status in Saturday's competition.
On Tuesday, Harris will compete in Geneva, Ohio at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events where she will enter as one of the top seeds with a shot at earning all-American honors on both boards.
BACK-TO-BACK
130 pound sophomore
Sierra Brown Ton will look to make it back-to-back all-American honors this weekend at the NCWWC Tournament. The Allen, Texas native became the first-ever all-American in program history when she placed eighth at 123 pounds last season at the WCWA National Championships in Georgia.
Brown Ton is pre-seeded in a position to accomplish the feat.
THE COACH
Second-year head coach
Travis Mercado has the Mavericks prepared for the season ahead. Mercado led Colorado Mesa to a 2-6 mark in the inaugural season. This season should be different with a full lineup and a roster of over 20 girls.
Prior to Colorado Mesa, Mercado was an assistant coach at King University in Tennessee where he oversaw the women's program and assisted with the men's team. At King, Mercado trained ten USA Olympic Trials competitors and nine USA Junior National Team members.
Earlier this year, Mercado was named the head coach for Team USA at the Junior Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team will include the top finishers at the Junior World Team trials in May with the games set to commence in July.
