PINE VALLEY, N.Y. (February 23, 2025) – The Golden Bears took on the NCWWC Region 1 Championships on Sunday. The team brought 15 wrestlers to regionals and saw seven wrestlers advance to the National Championships in Coralville, Iowa. Linda Holeman would win the region for 124 lb. weight class to put a stamp on an elite performance from the Golden Bears. Head coach Tyler Keane was named NCWWC Region 1 Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the event.
How it Happened:
The 103 lb. weight class saw Gianna Hernandez compete. Hernandez would pick up an 11-0 technical fall victory over Joycedeliz Rodriguez Santia at 3:51 before falling to Alexis Dobson via pinfall at 0:23. Hernandez then would fall to Tiffany Stoshak in the third-place match via an 11-0 technical fall at 3:00. Hernandez finished in fourth place, going 1-2, and earning a spot in the national championships. Victoria Orender would win the first match versus Aaliyah Payne-Parris via pinfall at 4:19. Then Orender dropped the next match to Izabella Frezzo via pinfall at 0:49 before falling to Theresa Zeppetelli in the consolation bracket via pinfall at 1:54 and Lauren Nguyen via technical fall 17-6 at 3:29 in the match. Orender finished the day 1-3 and ranked sixth in the region.
Hailey Laabs and Janieliz Cotto wrestled in the 117 lb. weight class. Cotto would drop the opening match via pinfall to Rebecca Ridling at 3:00. Then, Cotto would drop the next match to Hailey Beck via pinfall at 1:43. Laabs won the first match via pinfall at 0:48 versus Karley Perrini and then won the second match via pinfall at 0:27 versus Hailey Beck. Laabs then faced Nohea Moniz, who defeated Laabs via pinfall at 0:32. Laabs would drop to the consolation bracket and defeat Nuria Kojic at 4:13 via pinfall before dropping the third-place match to Dianna Pineda via pinfall at 3:17. Laabs secured a 3-2 record on the day, a fourth-place finish, and a spot in the national championships. The 124 lb. weight class saw Ariel Casella and Linda Holeman compete. Casella and Holeman would both win their first matches, with Casella winning via pinfall at 0:42 versus Olivia Delegas and Holeman defeating Lauren Palmer via pinfall at 1:14. Holeman would then defeat Casella via 10-1 technical fall at 2:01. Casella would drop the next match as well via pinfall at 0:48 versus Megan Edwards to finish the day 1-2. Holeman moved on to defeat Alexandra Fitzgerald via an 8-3 decision in the semifinals and then defeated Jazmene Molina to win the region for the 124 lb. weight class, go 4-0, and move on to the national championships. This is the first time a WNE women's wrestler has won their region in the program's history.
Abigail Alicandro and Jaden Coppins would compete for WNE in the 131 lb. weight class. Jaden Coppins would win the first match via pinfall at 1:10 versus Brooke Walsh and then dropped a match versus Ragan Retell via pinfall at 1:55. Coppins bounced back with a pinfall victory at 2:19 versus Claire Daity. However, Brooke Tarshis would defeat Coppins via pinfall at 2:38. Coppins finished 2-2 for the meet. Abigail Alicandro would win the first match versus Rebekah May via pinfall at 0:41 and then lost to Madison Wellen via pinfall at 1:38. Alicandro bounced back with a win via a 12-1 technical fall at 0:36 versus Braylin Jones before defeating Bella Serrano via another 12-1 technical fall at 2:28. Alicandro would drop the next match to Elleahna Anderson via a 13-0 technical fall at 2:30 but would win the fifth-place match over Brooke Tarshis via pinfall at 1:08 to earn fifth place in the region. The 138 lb. weight class saw two national qualifiers from WNE. Kendall Branchaud would drop the first match versus Gabby Bradigan via pinfall at 1:47 before going on a run in the consolation bracket. Branchaud won the next match via pinfall at 0:36 versus Gillian Mills before defeating Kayla Zeppetelli via pinfall at 1:36. Branchaud would fall in the third place match via 10-0 technical fall but would earn fourth place and a spot in the national championships with a 2-2 record on the day. Tanya Teneva was the other wrestler for WNE in the 138 lb. weight class. Teneva defeated Emily Brown via pinfall at 0:13 and Kayla Zeppetelli via pinfall at 1:11 before dropping the first-place match via pinfall at 2:17 versus Gabby Bradigan. However, with the 2-1 performance, Teneva placed second in the region and earned a place in the national championships.
Noelle Alexander wrestled for the Golden Bears in the 145 lb. weight class. Alexander dropped the first match to Tayla Tildsley via pinfall at 3:57 before defeating Cecilia Edwards via match forfeit. Alexander then defeated Ashley Dehney via pinfall at 5:47 before falling to Saniyah Ward via injury at 1:12. Alexander would finish the meet at 2-2 and concluded the day in sixth place in the region. Atiyana Williams wrestled in the 160 lb. weight class. Willaims defeated Camila Hidalgo via pinfall at 0:20 before falling to Skylah Chakouian via an 11-0 technical fall at 4:16. Williams would win out with wins versus Allison Strausbaugh via pinfall at 0:41 and versus Zoe Kip via pinfall at 0:47 to take third place in the region, go 3-1 on the day, and earn a spot in the national championships.
Mikayla Maloy and Shalom Feliz Lopez competed in the 180 lb. weight class for WNE. They faced off in their first match, and Feliz Lopez took the match via a 12-0 technical fall at 3:28. Maloy would then win two matches. The first was against Riley Wentlent via pinfall at 5:41, and the second was versus Navaya Ramos via pinfall at 1:12. Jacklyn Smith would then defeat Maloy via Pinfall at 0:43 before Maloy fell to Fabiana Josa in the fifth-place match via pinfall 1:28. Maloy finished the day 2-3 and earned sixth-place in the meet. Shalom Feliz Lopez would lose the next match versus Hazel Dahlquist via pinfall at 0:31 before defeating Fabiana Josa via pinfall at 1:34. Feliz Lopez would drop the third-place match to Jacklyn Smith but finished the day 2-2 in fourth place and clinched a place in the national championships. Samantha Rabkin competed in the 207 lb. weight class. Rabkin dropped the first match to Mackenzie Laforest via a 10-0 technical fall at 0:29. However, Rabkin would defeat Cecilla Williams via pinfall at 0:35. Rabkin would fall to Talisha Lewis via a 10-0 technical fall at 4:46 before defeating Hannah Grawn to finish in fifth place in the region and completing the day with a 2-2 record.
Up Next on the Schedule:
The six Golden Bear national qualifiers will travel to Coralville, Iowa, for their final meet of the year, the NCWWC National Championships, on March 7th and 8th, starting at 9:00 AM.
