Women's Wrestling Goes 2-1 at Chadron State Duals; Kaz and Gallaway Win Eagle Open

(Chadron, NE) – At the Chadron State College duals on Friday, Hastings defeated Minot State 39-9, then lost to host Chadron State 26-19, before dominating Trinidad State 40-10. The Broncos also participated in the Eagle Women's Open in Chadron on Saturday.

Against Minot State, freshman Miranda LaJevic won at 103 by fall and freshman Raelynn O'Connor took 110 with an 11-0 tech victory. At 117 and 124, freshmen Jessica Farmer and Cherish Faircloth won by forfeit to put Hastings ahead 19-0.

Senior Larissa Kaz earned a 10-0 tech fall victory at 131 in 37 seconds, then junior Reagen Gallaway won at 138 by fall at the 2:19 mark to put Hastings ahead 28-0. The Beavers got on the board with a 12-2 tech fall over freshman Carlie Nelson at 145. Freshman Jayla Ford got a quick pin at 160, and after a Minot State pin at 180, senior Taylor Rickley needed only 75 seconds to win the 207 bout by fall and secure the 39-9 victory.

Wrestling against host Chadron State, the Eagles started out by winning at 124 by tech fall. Kaz picked up another win, this time a pin 52 seconds into the bout at 131. Gallaway followed her up with a 10-0 tech fall win at 138 and Nelson earned a pin at 145 to put Hastings up 14-4. 

Ford won a 12-4 decision at 180, but Chadron State won a 11-2 decision at 180 over sophomore Mandy Perez and a 10-0 tech fall at 207, cutting the Hastings lead to 18-12. The Eagles got a quick pin at 103 and a 12-2 tech fall over O'Connor at 110 to take a 21-19 lead. Chadron State sealed the win with a pin at 117 to win, 26-19.

In their final dual they took on Trinidad State and took an early lead with a forfeit win by Kaz at 131. Gallaway pinned her opponent at 138 in 55 seconds and Nelson won by forfeit at 145 to go up 15-0. Ford, Perez, and Rickley all secured pins at 160, 180, and 207 to put Hastings up 30-0. 

LaJevic kept the momentum going, winning by fall at 103, then O'Connor followed her up with a pin at 110 to take a 40-0 lead. Trinidad State picked up their first win at 117 and took the final match at 124 to make it a 40-10 final.

At the Eagle Women's Open on Saturday, Kaz opened with a 12-2 tech fall victory at 138 over Southeast Community College and a 37-second pin over Adams State moved her to the quarterfinals, where she won a 10-0 tech fall over Skye Shelmerdine of Minot State. She advanced to the final with a 10-4 decision win over Alexis Schneider of Bismarck State College and leading 9-3 in the championship match against Alyssa Jones form Minot State, she got a pin at the 5:38 mark to close it out.

Also at 138, Gallaway won by a 10-0 tech fall in her first bout against Chadron State's Meredith Nash. In the quarterfinals, she also defeated Bismarck State by tech fall. She advanced to the final with a 12-2 tech fall win against Southeast Community College's Lillian Hagemann, which set up a final against senior teammate Lisa Hoeflich, which Gallaway won by a no-decision. 

Hoeflich defeated Navaeh Leonard of Chadron State by fall in her first match at 138 and advanced to the semifinals with a quarterfinal pin over Minot State at the 1:36 mark. Hoeflich won her semifinal match in a 11-7 decision over Regan Rosseter from Chadron State to reach the final.

Ford dropped her first match at 160 against Texas Woman's University in a 7-0 decision. She bounced back by winning a 6-0 decision over Adams State and pinning Colorado Mesa in the consolation bracket. She advanced to the consolation final with a pin 29 seconds in versus Kaitie Knebel from Trinidad State. Ford had a 3-2 lead in the second period, but ultimately fell behind 4-3 and got pinned by Valerie Glenn of Colorado Mesa.

At 207, freshman Alexis Llamas pinned her Jamestown opponent at the 4:09 mark in her first match, then lost her quarterfinal match by tech fall to Texas Woman's University. She responded by pinning freshman teammate Annie Lopez. Llamas got pinned in the consolation final against Southeast Community College's Martha Hinneh.

Lopez lost her opening match by fall to Chadron. She picked up a no-contest win against Trinidad State in her first consolation match and pinned Alena Bartley from Colorado Mesa, before losing to Llamas in the consolation semifinal. Lopez would get pinned by Jamestown to take sixth.

At 110, O'Connor got pinned in her first match against Chadron State, then pinned Colorado Mesa in her first consolation match less than a minute in. She moved onto the consolation final with a 10-0 tech fall victory over Kiera Hersel of Colorado Mesa. In the third-place match, O'Connor led 11-7 after one period, but got pinned in the second period to take fourth.

Freshman Janessa Esquivel also competed at 131, winning her first match after a first round bye with a pin over Adams State. In the quarterfinals, she lost by tech fall to Jamestown and later to Colorado Mesa in the consolation bracket.

At 138, sophomore Aubrey Sharbono picked up a win by fall in her first match over Texas Woman's University before losing an 8-5 decision to Southeast Community College. She lost her first consolation match in an 11-0 tech fall versus Chadron State.

Perez was pinned by Texas Woman's University in her opening match at 180, then needed just 56 seconds to pin Chadron State in her first consolation match. After a bye, she lost by fall to Minot State to end her day.

Up next, Hastings will host Doane in dual for Senior Day on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2pm in Lynn Farrell Arena.