LEBANON, Ill. - No.2 McKendree University women's wrestling took home another dual victory with a win over Lindenwood at home, 39-10, and then hosted the 2022 Bearcat Open at Melvin Price Convocation Center, where they collected five first-place finishes. The Bearcats will host an NCWWC regional next on Sunday, February 20 at Melvin Price Convocation Center. 

February 11 | vs. Lindenwood
The No.2 Bearcats handled the Lions well on Friday night with an impressive showing during their victory. McKendree started off strong with three-straight victories, from 101lb freshman Kiona Conner, 109lb graduate senior Natalie Reyna, and 116lb senior Felicity Taylor. McKendree dropped the 123 and 130 classes but recovered by winning the final five matchups of the night. Freshman Emmily Patneaud defeated Athena Willden in the 136 by fall at 1:08 after amassing a takedown and three two-point nearfalls in the match. 143lb junior Alara Boyd took nearly no time with a 0:06 fall victory after earning a takedown and three nearfalls over Julianna Moreno. The 155 went to McKendree behind a fall victory in 1:48 by senior Kayla Marano over Khalia Hughes. Marano collected a pair of points before earning a takedown and a nearfall, parlaying it into a pin. The 170 was a matchup between senior Grace Kristoff and Sierra Hall which Kristoff took control of with a takedowna dn two nearfalls before earning the victory due to injury. Senior Sydnee Kimber takced on the final win of the night with a fall victory just 12 seconds into the match after she earned a takedown and four-point nearfall. 

February 12 | Bearcat Open
101 Champion | Lizette Rodriguez | Sophomore
Rodriguez made a huge impact on the 101 class with a tech fall win in her first round matchup against Mia Diaz of Campbellsville, winning 10-0. Rodriguez quickly moved onto the semifinal as she won by forfeiture before taking on Odelia Lopez of Schreiner. In the semifinal matchup against Lopez, the sophomore won by fall at the 4:51 mark to push her way into the first-place match of the Bearcat Open's 101lb class. The first-place match put Rodriguez against Emmanuel College's Angie Gomez. Rodriguez won via decision on an 8-0 count. 

116 Champion | Felicity Taylor | Senior
Taylor pushed through her bracket with force as she accepted nothing less than a tech fall victory, of which she earned four on the day. Taylor openend up the tournament with a 10-0 tech fall over Victoria Devoto of New Jersey City before taking her second round match by pinfall at the 0:48 mark against Hailey Holland of Lyon. The quarterfinal matchup had the senior square off against McKendree teammate sophomore Victoria Nunez, which Taylor convicingly qwon by a 10-0 count for a tech fall. In the semifinal, the top-ranked Taylor faced Chloe Ayres of NJ RTC and gathered her third tech fall win. The championship matchup featured two McKendree wrestlers in Taylor and junior Aliyah Rollins, which ended with Taylor taking the match with her fourth and final tech fall of the day (10-0).

143 Champion | Alara Boyd | Junior
Boyd, the top-ranked 143 wrestler, began her Bearcat Open with a Fall / Tech Fall / Fall / Tech Fall, which put her into the first place matchup. The junior claimed her first round win with the fall coming at the 3:02 mark against Elizabeth Ramirez of Saint Mary. Her round two victory came against former teammate Salome Walker, who now wrestles for North Central, with a win by tech fall on a count of 10-0. The quarterfinal round put Boyd against Adriana Orozco of Oklahoma City, which the junior Bearcat won via fall at the 3:30 mark. In the Semifinal, Boyd earned her second tech fall with a win over Emma Walker of Campbellsville on the count of 10-0. The championship match had Maya Letona (NYC RTC) face off against Boyd and after a hard-fought 2-2 decision, Boyd won, taking first place.

155 Champion | Kayla Marano | Senior
Marano began her outing with a bye round and then took on Irene Sanchez Figuera of Oklahoma City, beating Figeura by fall at the 0:13 mark. The quarterfinal matchup for Marano was against Adrian's Nyla Burgess, which the senior won by fall 46 seconds into the contest. Marano's final two wins came via decision with a 6-0 win versus Kenya Sloan of Campbellsville and then beating Taylor Hites of Tiffin on a 9-2 count. 

191 Champion | Sydnee Kimber | Senior
Kimber earned the first place finish behind four pinfalls after her first round bye. Her first fall win came versus Yamiley Perez of Adrian with the pin at 1:17 of the first round. Her second pin against Traeh Haynes of North Central (Unattached) came at the 4:02 mark and third went at the 1:53 mark against Campbellsville's Brianna Staebler. The first-place match placed kimber against Kelani Corbett of Lyon, winning at the latter part of the first period (2:06), earning Kimber the title in her class.

COMPLETE RESULTS:
101 | Lizette Rodriguez | 4-0, 1st
101 | Kiona Conner | 3-2
109 | Natalie Reyna | 3-1, 2nd
109 | Pauline Granados | 1-2
116 | Aliyah Rollins | 3-1, 2nd
116 | Amiyah Hart | 5-1, 3rd
116 | Victoria Nunez | 1-2
116 | Carly Valleroy | 3-2
116 | Felicity Taylor | 5-0, 1st
123 | Megan Stutsman | 0-2
123 | Caitlyn Thorne | 2-2
123 | Hannah Hall | 2-2
123 | Shaina Murray | 2-2
130 | Cameron Guerin | 3-1, 2nd
130 | Esther Levendusky | 1-2
136 | Skye Realin | 3-1, 2nd
136 | Emmily Patneaud | 4-1, 2nd
143 | Michelle Camacho | 1-2
143 | Alara Boyd | 5-0, 1st
155 | Kayla Marano | 4-0, 1st
170 | Grace Kristoff | 3-1, 2nd
191 | Sydnee Kimber | 4-0, 1st

UP NEXT
McKendree women's wrestling will be back in action on Sunday, February 20, to host the NCWWC Regional tournament at Melvin Price Convocation Center.

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