ADRIAN, Mich. – The No. 5 Colorado Mesa women's wrestling team produced six All-Americans after the completion of the first day of the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championship. The tournament is the culminating tournament for the NCAA schools that sponsor the sport of women's wrestling.
 
The Mavericks had just two wrestlers reach the semifinals of their respective weights but neither won their match.
 
True freshman Claire DiCugno found her way into the semifinals after winning her first match over Marquesi Haintz of Simon Fraser 6-4 in a tightly contested bout. She followed that up with a 13-2 technical fall win over East Stroudsburg's Mia Macaluso at 4:27 of the second period to enter the All-American rounds.
 
DiCugno faced North Central's Niya Gaines in the semifinals and trailed her 4-0 heading to the second period. The Lake Tapps, Wash. native worked back into the match and tied it at 4-4 with criteria with just 43 seconds left in the match. Gaines was able to hit a mini-throw for four points with just five seconds left to secure the win.
 
She will now face Simon Fraser's Lauren Mason in the consolation semifinals tomorrow morning.
 
Fellow true freshman Jayleen Sekona worked her way into the semifinals after winning her first match of the day over Sacred Heart's Ashley Reed 6-0. In the quarterfinals, Sekona upset third-seeded Nia Croasdale of King 3-1 to move onto the semis and the All-American rounds.
 
In the semifinals, she faced No. 2 seeded Jaycee Foeller of McKendree. Sekona fell behind 5-0 but with one minute to go, the Anchorage native made her move. She scored a takedown with 53 seconds left to make it 5-2 but that's all the closer as she would get.
 
The now All-American will take on Simon Fraser's Katja Osteen in the consolation semifinals.
 
Redshirt sophomore Marissa Gallegos opened her tournament with a 10-0 technical fall win over Delaware Valley's Bridgett Schoutiz 10-0 at the 1:20 in the first period. In her quarterfinal bout, she fell to Melanie Mendoza of King 3-1 but wasn't without a little controversy regarding a passivity call.
 
Despite the challenges on the call, Gallegos moved to the consolation bracket. In her first bout, she defeated East Stroudsburg's Emily Klein by pin at 2:34. She backed that up with a convincing 12-0 technical fall win over North Central's Asia Nguyen-Smith.
 
The now three-time All-American, Gallegos will take on Amani Jones of North Central in the consolation semifinals.
 
Poulsbo, Wash. native Holly Beaudoin earned All-American status for the first time at 136-pounds after reaching the quarterfinals at the weight. Beaudoin won her first match by technical fall over Madison Matta of Lock Haven 10-0 at the 1:30 mark of the first period. She faced second seeded Zoe Nowicki of Adrian in the quarters where she fell by technical fall.
 
In the consolation rounds, she defeated Gannon's Mikayla Dockweiler 10-0 at the 1:40 mark of the first period to reach the conso quarters. In her final match of the day, she defeated North Central's Sara Sulejmani 8-2 to move on to the consolation semifinals.
 
She will face King's Ana Luciano who was seeded No. 1 at the weight before being upset in the semifinals.
 
Grand Junction native Kaylee Haynes is now a three-time All-American after reaching the consolation semifinals at 143-pounds. She defeated Clara Padua-Cruz of Limestone by pin at 5:33 in the second period before moving onto the quarterfinals. She met up with East Stroudsburg's Avia Bibeau and was upset by her by fall in the first period.
 
Haynes bounced back with a win over Nia Miranda of Tiffin by fall at 1:24 with her patented headlock. She finished her day with a 10-0 technical fall over Sacred Heart's Khadijah Sanusi.
 
Haynes will face North Central's Riley Arnold tomorrow morning in the consolation semifinals.
 
True freshman Tatum Heikkila earned her first All-American honor after going 2-2 in her first four matches. She fell to Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Jade Herzer and will now go for 7^th place at 170 pounds. The Aberdeen, Wash. native will take on Sacred Heart's Jacklyn Smith in that bout.
 
Colorado Mesa is currently in fifth place as a team with 70 points as they are just one point ahead of sixth-place Tiffin and Augsburg. McKendree is leading the team race with 158 points and nearly has a 26-point lead over second place King. Simon Fraser is third with 119.0 while North Central is fourth with 113.5.
 
The six remaining Mavericks will continue their National Championship run tomorrow morning at 9am MT.