Iowa, GVSU go 2-0 on Day 1 of Throwdown on the Yorktown

Top-ranked Iowa and No. 4 Grand Valley State both took care of business on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown on Saturday.

The two teams each went 2-0 on Day 1 of the third Throwdown on the Yorktown at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Iowa, ranked No. 1 in the HerMat NCAA dual meet rankings, defeated Delaware State 32-10 and No. 5 Presbyterian 38-6. GVSU edged Presbyterian 23-20 in the day’s only dual between ranked teams and defeated Delaware State 27-18 in the final dual of the day.

Rankings cited below are from this week’s HerMat rankings.

Iowa won 17 of 20 bouts on the day, 13 of them by fall or technical superiority. The Hawkeyes did it without three ranked wrestlers. No. 1 Val Solorio (103), No. 1 Everest Leydecker (124) and No. 5 Karlee Brooks (131) did not wrestle. Brooks placed second at 55 kilograms at the Bill Farrell Memorial International in New York City on Friday.

Iowa also showed off its depth by using different wrestlers at five weights in its two duals. Against Delaware State, Sterling Dias (103), Emilie Gonzalez (110), Nora Akpan (145) and Cadence Diduch (160) all won, and Libby Dix wrestled at 207 pounds. Against Presbyterian, Iowa turned to Madison Nieuwenhuis (103), No. 6 Isabella Gonzales (110), No. 2 Reese Larramendy (145), No. 1 Brooklyn Hays (160) and No. 6 Naomi Simon (207). All five won by fall or technical superiority.

The Hawkeyes won nine of 10 bouts against Presbyterian, eight of them by fall or technical superiority. In the dual’s best matchup on paper, Hays rolled to an 11-0 technical superiority over Presbyterian’s May Cuyler, ranked No. 6 at 160 pounds, in 4:20. Larramendy blanked Presbyterian’s Kassey Daugherty, ranked No. 9 at 131 pounds, 10-0 by technical superiority at 145 pounds, also in 4:20. Isabella Gonzales pinned Presbyterian’s Anna Ockerman in 2:03, and Simon stuck Presbyterian’s Grace Leota in 2:27.

Against Delaware State, Iowa won eight of 10 bouts. Delaware State came in with five ranked wrestlers, and both of its wins came from ranked wrestlers at 138 and 207 pounds.

GVSU’s two wins were much tighter. Interestingly, the Lakers won just five of 10 bouts in each dual. Both times, they made up the difference with falls and with points scored in losses, which earn a team point under classification scoring.

The Presbyterian dual was a nail-biter. The Lakers won three bouts by fall or technical superiority to Presbyterian’s two. Three GVSU wrestlers also scored points in losses, earning the Lakers a team point each time, while Presbyterian earned two of those points. In a three-point dual, those single points made the difference.

Both teams shifted their lineups around. GVSU was without No. 1 Sabrina Nauss (207), No. 5 Elleni Johnson (160) and No. 14 Alyssa Favara (180). Margaret Buurma, ranked No. 4 at 145 pounds, moved up to 160 pounds, and Madilyn Peach, ranked No. 11 at 131 pounds, wrestled at 138 pounds. Presbyterian, which was without No. 5 Carina Giangeruso (138), moved four ranked wrestlers up a weight. Alyssa Mahan, ranked No. 7 at 124 pounds, wrestled at 131 pounds. Daugherty went up to 138 pounds, Maddie Kubicki, ranked No. 6 at 145 pounds, went up to 160 pounds, and Cuyler went up to 180 pounds. Zoe Griffith filled the spot at 145 pounds.

Several of those moves paid off for Presbyterian. Daugherty edged Peach 8-7 at 138 pounds, Kubicki defeated Buurma 9-2 at 160 pounds and Griffith pinned GVSU’s Alexis Lazar in 1:14. Jenna Anderson, ranked No. 11 at 117 pounds, blanked GVSU’s Noelani Lutz 11-0 by technical superiority, and No. 5 Maria Aiono topped GVSU’s Aaliyah Grandberry 9-4 at 207 pounds. Peach, Buurma and Grandberry each earned GVSU a team point by scoring in those losses.

GVSU countered with the lower weights and a key win at 180 pounds. No. 4 Katey Valdez of GVSU needed just 35 seconds to pin Presbyterian’s Annalise Maralit, ranked No. 17 at 103 pounds. No. 3 Aspen Blasko topped Presbyterian’s Camdyn Elliot 9-3 at 124 pounds, and Naima Ghaffar, who placed fifth at the Tiffin Open last weekend, pinned Mahan in 4:20 at 131 pounds. At 180 pounds, GVSU’s Noelle Gaffney defeated Cuyler, a two-time All-American, 8-3.

GVSU shuffled its lineup again against Delaware State, using different wrestlers at seven weights. The Lakers picked up four wins worth five team points each. Valdez pinned Delaware State’s Sydney Branch in 1:11 at 103 pounds, and Eva Zimmerman stuck Delaware State’s Ariah Mervilus, ranked No. 20 at 110 pounds, in 1:43. Ghaffar pinned Delaware State’s Samiyah Rahming in 1:37 at 131 pounds, and Madison Ward won by injury default over Delaware State’s Chloe Williams at 180 pounds. Gaffney, who dropped down to 160 pounds, blanked Delaware State’s Haylie Briscoe 8-0.

Delaware State made the Lakers work for it. No. 7 Icart Galumette of Delaware State pinned GVSU’s Isabella Crompton in 2:34 at 117 pounds. Sophia Slaughter of Delaware State scored a 14-4 technical superiority over GVSU’s Libby Roberts, ranked No. 9 at 117 pounds, at 124 pounds. At 145 pounds, No. 9 Louise Juitt of Delaware State defeated Buurma 8-3.

Grandberry, wrestling in the absence of Nauss, nearly picked up a highly ranked win at 207 pounds. The GVSU wrestler led No. 8 Deionna Borders of Delaware State 4-0 with just over a minute left. Borders then used a four-point feet-to-back takedown to take the criteria lead, which proved to be the difference in her 4-4 win.

Here are some of the other notable individual results from Day 1.

Iowa’s Lilly Luft, the No. 2 wrestler at 138 pounds, dropped both of her bouts. Delaware State’s Willow White, ranked No. 10 at 138 pounds, handled Luft 12-3 in the first dual of the day. Against Presbyterian, Griffith, who moved down to 138 pounds for the dual, pinned Luft at 5:54. It was the only bout Presbyterian won against Iowa.

White went 2-0 on the day against ranked opponents. After her win over Luft, she topped GVSU’s Jordyn Fouse, ranked No. 14 at 138 pounds, 7-3.

Griffith finished the day with two falls, the most of any Presbyterian wrestler.

GVSU freshman Julia Horger, ranked No. 8 at 110 pounds, picked up one of the biggest wins of the day. She rolled to a 10-0 technical superiority over All-American Chloe Dearwester of Presbyterian, the No. 3 wrestler at the weight, in 1:33. The win came a week after Horger beat another All-American, McKendree’s Heather Crull, ranked No. 9 at 110 pounds, to win the Tiffin Open title.

Iowa’s Brianna Gonzalez, ranked No. 2 at 117 pounds and No. 8 pound-for-pound, went 2-0 against ranked opponents. She pinned Galumette in 2:23 and edged Anderson 3-2.

Kylie Welker of Iowa, the NCAA pound-for-pound No. 1, spent a total of 1:23 on the mat at 180 pounds. She scored a 10-0 technical superiority over Delaware State’s Azariyah Johnson in 26 seconds and a 10-0 technical superiority over Presbyterian’s Isabella Gretzinger in 57 seconds.

Two unranked Iowa wrestlers beat ranked Delaware State opponents. Akpan topped Juitt 7-3, and Emilie Gonzalez blanked Mervilus 9-0.

Borders also went 2-0, edging Dix 5-3 earlier in the day.

Valdez and Ghaffar each went 2-0 with two falls for GVSU. Valdez spent a total of 1:46 on the mat.

Iowa’s Emily Frost, who won the 131-pound title at the Luther Hill Open last weekend, went 2-0. She beat Delaware State’s Naima Rodriguez 12-1 by technical superiority and pinned Mahan in 38 seconds.

The Throwdown on the Yorktown wraps up on Sunday, Nov. 8. Presbyterian faces Delaware State, and top-ranked Iowa takes on GVSU in a matchup of unbeaten teams. That dual could feature Larramendy against Buurma at 145 pounds and Isabella Gonzales against Horger at 110 pounds.

Grand Valley State 27, Delaware State 18
103: No. 4 Katey Valdez (Grand Valley State) pinned Sydney Branch (Delaware State), 1:11
110: Eva Zimmerman (Grand Valley State) pinned No. 20 Ariah Mervilus (Delaware State), 1:43
117: No. 7 Icart Galumette (Delaware State) pinned Isabella Crompton (Grand Valley State), 2:34
124: Sophia Slaughter (Delaware State) tech. No. 9 (117) Libby Roberts (Grand Valley State), 14-4 5:04
131: Naima Ghaffar (Grand Valley State) pinned Samiyah Rahming (Delaware State), 1:37
138: No. 10 Willow White (Delaware State) dec. No. 14 Jordyn Fouse (Grand Valley State), 7-3
145: No. 9 Louise Juitt (Delaware State) dec. No. 4 Margaret Buurma (Grand Valley State), 8-3
160: Noelle Gaffney (Grand Valley State) dec. Haylie Briscoe (Delaware State), 8-0
180: Madison Ward (Grand Valley State) by inj. def. over Chloe Williams (Delaware State), 0:09
207: No. 8 Deionna Borders (Delaware State) dec. Aaliyah Grandberry (Grand Valley State), 4-4

Iowa 38, Presbyterian 6
103: Madison Nieuwenhuis (Iowa) tech. No. 17 Annalise Maralit (Presbyterian), 11-0 3:33
110: No. 6 Isabella Gonzales (Iowa) pinned Anna Ockerman (Presbyterian), 2:03
117: No. 2 Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) dec. No. 11 Jenna Anderson (Presbyterian), 3-2
124: Harlee Hiller (Iowa) tech. Camdyn Elliot (Presbyterian), 13-0 3:31
131: Emily Frost (Iowa) pinned No. 7 (124) Alyssa Mahan (Presbyterian), 0:38
138: Zoe Griffith (Presbyterian) pinned No. 2 Lilly Luft (Iowa), 5:54
145: No. 2 Reese Larramendy (Iowa) tech. No. 9 (131) Kassey Daugherty (Presbyterian), 10-0 4:20
160: No. 1 Brooklyn Hays (Iowa) tech. No. 6 May Cuyler (Presbyterian), 11-0 4:20
180: No. 1 Kylie Welker (Iowa) tech. Isabella Gretzinger (Presbyterian), 10-0 0:57
207: No. 6 Naomi Simon (Iowa) pinned Grace Leota (Presbyterian), 2:27

Grand Valley State 23, Presbyterian 20
103: No. 4 Katey Valdez (Grand Valley State) pinned No. 17 Annalise Maralit (Presbyterian), 0:35
110: No. 8 Julia Horger (Grand Valley State) tech. No. 3 Chloe Dearwester (Presbyterian), 10-0 1:33
117: No. 11 Jenna Anderson (Presbyterian) tech. Noelani Lutz (Grand Valley State), 11-0 2:35
124: No. 3 Aspen Blasko (Grand Valley State) dec. Camdyn Elliot (Presbyterian), 9-3
131: Naima Ghaffar (Grand Valley State) pinned No. 7 (124) Alyssa Mahan (Presbyterian), 4:20
138: No. 9 (131) Kassey Daugherty (Presbyterian) dec. No. 11 (131) Madilyn Peach (Grand Valley State), 8-7
145: Zoe Griffith (Presbyterian) pinned Alexis Lazar (Grand Valley State), 1:14
160: No. 6 (145) Maddie Kubicki (Presbyterian) dec. No. 4 (145) Margaret Buurma (Grand Valley State), 9-2
180: Noelle Gaffney (Grand Valley State) dec. No. 6 (160) May Cuyler (Presbyterian), 8-3
207: No. 5 Maria Aiono (Presbyterian) dec. Aaliyah Grandberry (Grand Valley State), 9-4

Iowa 32, Delaware State 10
103: Sterling Dias (Iowa) tech. Sydney Branch (Delaware State), 10-0 2:12
110: Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa) dec. No. 20 Ariah Mervilus (Delaware State), 9-0
117: No. 2 Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) pinned No. 7 Icart Galumette (Delaware State), 2:23
124: Harlee Hiller (Iowa) tech. Sophia Slaughter (Delaware State), 13-3 4:27
131: Emily Frost (Iowa) tech. Naima Rodriguez (Delaware State), 12-1 1:59
138: No. 10 Willow White (Delaware State) dec. No. 2 Lilly Luft (Iowa), 12-3
145: Nora Akpan (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Louise Juitt (Delaware State), 7-3
160: Cadence Diduch (Iowa) dec. Chloe Williams (Delaware State), 7-2
180: No. 1 Kylie Welker (Iowa) tech. Azariyah Johnson (Delaware State), 10-0 0:26
207: No. 8 Deionna Borders (Delaware State) dec. Libby Dix (Iowa), 5-3