TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

SOU ALL-AMERICANS
1ST PLACE | Carolina Moreno (130), Caitlyn Davis (155)
3RD PLACE | Emma Baertlein (109), Bella Amaro (143)
4TH PLACE | Shenita Lawson (170)
5TH PLACE | Lia Ferreira (101)
7TH PLACE | Marissa Kurtz (116)

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Southern Oregon's Carolina Moreno and Cailtyn Davis left the NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships the same way they came into them: utterly untouchable.

Moreno, a junior at 130 pounds, and Davis, a sophomore at 155, topped off their undefeated seasons with individual titles Saturday at Newman Arena, boosting the Raiders to third place in the final team standings. Moreno was never scored on in her third consecutive championship run and Davis beat up her opponents 38-3 combined, both proving worthy of their No. 1 seeds.

SOU went 6-1 in its placing matches, getting additional All-America performances out of third-place Emma Baertlein (109 pounds) and Bella Amaro (143), fourth-place Shenita Lawson (170), fifth-place Lia Ferreira (101) and seventh-place Marissa Kurtz (116).

NCAA Division II-bound Menlo (Calif.) celebrated the title in its final NAIA appearance with 172 points from 10 top-seven placers. Second-place Life (Ga.) scored 138 points, four in front of the Raiders, and fourth-place William Penn (Iowa) was the only team other than SOU with multiple individual champs.

Moreno, who last year became SOU's first two-time champ, was never challenged in her latest run. The Somerton, Ariz., product started Saturday with a 10-0 semifinal win over No. 4 seed Alyssa Randles of Providence (Mont.), then led No. 2 seed Sarah Savidge of Life (Ga.) 9-0 by the end of the first period in the final before finishing off the technical fall a minute into the second. In three appearances on the national stage, Moreno has gone 15-0 with nine technical falls and three pins. She completed the season, her first at 130 pounds, with a 28-0 record.

Davis wrapped up at 23-0, and in the final defeated the same person she stole the No. 1 ranking from with a head-to-head win in November: Life's No. 2-seeded Latifah McBryde. The rematch went her way again, a 4-2 decision that she led 4-0 halfway through. After placing fifth last year for Central Methodist (Mo.), Davis eased her way into the championship round, dismissing No. 4 seed Flor Parker-Borreo of Evergreen (Wash.) by 13-0 technical fall in the semis.

Baertlein, a No. 5-seeded sophomore in the 109 bracket, won four consecutive consolation matches – the last three against top-eight seeds – to capture third. In her third-place match, she trailed No. 4 Paige Morales of Providence 8-0 before winning by fall with 1:29 remaining.

Amaro, a No. 7-seeded sophomore, started Saturday with a semifinal loss but recovered with back-to-back decisions – 2-1 over Menlo's No. 5 Alexandra Lopez and 7-1 over Grand View's Madison Diaz. The third-place finish was her second in a row.

A No. 3-seeded sophomore, Lawson improved upon the fifth-place finish she posted for Grand View a season ago. After losing to the No. 2 seed in the semis, she reached the third-place match with a 10-2 win over No. 6 Chamira Cooper of Cumberlands (Ky.).

Ferreira came into the tournament unseeded and knocked off three top-eight opponents for her first All-America honor. In the fifth-place match, she needed just 1:21 to pin No. 8 Audalie Cruz of Wayland Baptist (Texas). Kurtz also won by fall to earn seventh place, outperforming her No. 8 seed by finishing off Life's No. 7 Ariana Martinez in 1:37.

The Raiders have ended up top-three nationally three seasons in a row. Moreno and Amaro were the only common denominators among All-Americans from last year's championship squad.

COMPLETE SOU ALL-AMERICA RESULTS
101 – Lia Ferreira (5th place)
Friday's Results
Round of 32 – Bye
Round of 16 – No. 2 Stefana Jelacic, Lourdes, p. Ferreira, 1:08
Consolation R2 – Ferreira p. Teya Garner, William Penn, 0:55
Consolation R3 – Ferreira tech. fall Abbeygael Cabuag, 10-0
Consolation R4 – Ferreira p. No. 5 Alyssa Quezaire, Missouri Baptist, 4:56
Saturday's Results
Consolation R5 – Ferreira dec. No. 6 Makayla Young, Indiana Tech, 15-9
Consolation Semifinals – No. 3 Kayla McKinley-Johnson, Menlo, dec. Ferreira, 9-4
5th-place Match – Ferreira p. No. 8 Audalie Cruz, Wayland Baptist, 1:21

109 – No. 5 Emma Baertlein (3rd place)
Friday's Results
Round of 32 – Bye
Round of 16 – Baertlein tech. fall Valeria Ahumada, Siena Heights, 10-0
Quarterfinals – No. 4 Paige Morales, Providence, dec. Baertlein, 10-4
Consolation R4 – Baertlein dec. Nizhoni Tallman, Evergreen, 5-2
Saturday's Results
Consolation R5 – Baertlein dec. No. 8 Tristan Nitta, Grand View, 5-4
Consolation Semifinals – Baertlein dec. No. 7 Diana Gonzalez, Life, 8-0
3rd-place Match – Baertlein p. No. 4 Paige Morales, Providence, 4:31

116 – No. 8 Marissa Kurtz (7th place)
Friday's Results
Round of 32 – Bye
Round of 16 – Kurtz dec. Isabelle Asuncion, Providence, 4-4
Quarterfinals – No. 1 Juliana Diaz, Missouri Baptist, tech. fall Kurtz, 11-0
Consolation R4 – Kurtz p. Arieana Arias, Providence, 1:12
Saturday's Results
Consolation R5 – No. 5 Ajayzee Zaballos, Menlo, dec. Kurtz, 12-5
7th-place Match – Kurtz p. No. 7 Ariana Martinez, Life, 1:37

130 – No. 1 Carolina Moreno (1st place)
Friday's Results
Round of 32 – Moreno p. Nonnie Justice, Central Methodist, 2:13
Round of 16 – Moreno p. Ellyana Kuzma, Indiana Tech, 1:33
Quarterfinals – Moreno tech. fall No. 8 Lillian Avalos, Vanguard, 10-0
Saturday's Results
Semifinals – Moreno tech. fall No. 4 Alyssa Randles, Providence, 10-0
Championship – Moreno tech. fall No. 2 Sarah Savidge, Life, 11-0

143 – No. 7 Bella Amaro (3rd place)
Friday's Results
Round of 32 – Amaro p. Makayla Munoz, Oklahoma City, 1:26
Round of 16 – Amaro dec. Isabelle Hawley, William, Penn, 6-2
Quarterfinals – Amaro dec. No. 2 Mea Mohler, Texas Wesleyan, 4-3
Saturday's Results
Semifinals – No. 6 Emma Walker, Campbellsville, dec. Amaro, 6-2
Consolation Semifinals – Amaro dec. No. 5 Alexandra Lopez, Menlo, 2-1
3rd-place Match – Amaro dec. Madison Diaz, Grand View, 7-1

155 – No. 1 Caitlyn Davis (1st place)
Friday's Results
Round of 32 – Davis tech. fall Cydney Bassett, Indana Tech, 10-0
Round of 16 – Davis dec. Leilani Hernandez, Texas Wesleyan, 8-0
Quarterfinals – Davis dec. No. 8 Sadie Antoque, Providence, 3-1
Saturday's Results
Semifinals – Davis tech. fall No. 4 Flor Parker-Borreo, Evergreen, 13-0
Championship – Davis dec. No. 2 Latifah McBryde, Life, 4-2

170 – No. 3 Shenita Lawson
Friday's Results
Round of 32 – Bye
Round of 16 – Lawson dec. Gabrielle Holloway, St. Andrews, 7-2
Quarterfinals – Lawson p. Faith Macharia, Missouri Baptist, 2:27
Saturday's Results
Semifinals – No. 2 Ashley Lekas, William Penn, dec. Lawson, 8-0
Consolation Semifinals – Lawson dec. No. 6 Chamira Cooper, Cumberlands, 10-2
3rd-place Match – No. 5 Kalila Shrive, Menlo, dec. Lawson, 4-2