DENTON, Texas – For the third straight season, the No. 8 Colorado Mesa women's wrestling team claimed the NCWWC Region 8 Team title and will be sending a region-high 10 wrestlers to the National Championships on Saturday (Feb. 22) evening at Kitty Magee Arena on the campus of Texas Woman's University.
 
The Mavericks claimed this year's title with 192 points which was 25 points better than second-place Fort Hays State (167). Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival Simon Fraser (138.5) was third with William Jewell (118.5) fourth and Chadron State (98.5) claiming fifth place. The Mavericks got a huge bump as they sent seven wrestlers to the finals and came away with four champions.
 
Redshirt senior Jennesis Martinez claimed the Mavericks first title of the evening as she earned a 1-1, criteria win over Schreiner's Odelia Lopez at 103 pounds. The Alburquerque, N.M. native earned a pin of Tori Debold of Linfield in her first bout of the day before a 13-1 technical fall win over Chadron State's Brianna Vollendroff in the semifinals.
 
The Mavericks will be sending two wrestlers at 103 pounds to the National Championships as freshman Maddison Heinzer placed fourth at the weight. Heinzer upended Mana Chanthasone of Chadron State 8-5 to make the third-place bout where she fell to Vollendroff of Chadron State 12-8.  
 
At 124 pounds, the Mavericks had both sides of the bracket make the final with the freshman pair of Lorianna Piestewa and Brooke McCurley. Both wrestlers will advance to the National Championships for the first time. Piestewa earned a 10-0 technical fall victory over her teammate McCurley in the final.
 
Piestewa picked up a 14-4 technical fall win over Jada Hernandez in her first bout of the day followed by a pin of William Jewell's Emarie Bolosan at 3:32 in the semifinal bout. McCurley earned wins of all types as she picked up a pin in her first match followed by a 9-6 decision over Jada Hernandez of William Jewell and a 12-2 tech fall win over Ileah Brown of Schreiner in her semifinal match.
 
Maybe the Mavericks hottest wrestler kept up her winning ways as Erica Smith claimed the title at 145 pounds with a 6-2 decision victory over top-seeded Azana King of Schreiner. Smith has now won 10 matches in a row after picking up a technical fall in her first match and a 10-0 technical fall win over Minot State's Haleigh Lematta in the semifinal.
 
Freshman Gretchen Donally earned a little redemption and did something no one else had done this year in claiming the 160-pound title. Donally defeated Simon Fraser's Lene McCrackin 4-2 handing her her first loss of the season. The Ballantine, Mont. native had lost to McCrackin two other times this season before this evening's triumph. She is now 25-6 on the season while McCrackin falls to 21-1.
 
Sophia Cornish was the runner-up at 110 pounds as she fell to Adam's State's Austria Holland 8-2 for the second time this season. Cornish is now a NCWWC qualifier after earning a first period pin over Victoria Pena of Texas Woman's and an 8-3 win over Josiah Ortiz of Fort Hays State in the semifinals.
 
Freshman Alison Evans earned a runner-up finish at 180 pounds after falling to Simon Fraser's Paige Maher in the final. Evans had back-to-back technical fall victories leading up to the finals as she outscored her opponents 26-5 in those matches. 2^nd
 
Orting, Wash. native Jojo McDaniel finished in third place at 117-pounds and she will be making her first appearance at the NCWWC National Championships. McDaniel made the semifinals before falling to Maddie Mackenzie of Simon Fraser. She bounced back with a win over Simon Fraser's Ivy Threatful in just 16 seconds then earned a 13-3 technical fall win over Fort Hays State's Lindsey Lopez to claim third.
 
Senior Isabeau Shalack earned a return trip to the NCWWC National Championships as she placed third at 207 pounds after defeating Fort Hays State's Hailey Conley 5-2 to claim third. The Beaudozer reached the semifinals before falling to Chadron State's Esther Peters. The Evergreen Park, Ill. native bounced back with a win over Texas Woman's Jaycee Portee 3-0 to punch her ticket.
 
In all, seven of the Mavericks 10 national qualifiers are freshman and the other three are seniors who will be making return trips to the National Championships.
 
These 10 Mavericks will advance to the NCWWC National Championship that will take place on March 7 at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. The top-8 finishers at each weight at the National Championships will earn All-American honors.