#17 Women's Wrestling 3/16/2019 10:37:00 AM

Nwankwo, OCU take runner-up finishes in NAIA Invitational

Nine Stars become NAIA all-Americans

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Nkechinyere Nwankwo boasted of a runner-up finish at 191 pounds to fuel Oklahoma City University's second-place showing in the NAIA women's wrestling invitational on Saturday at Harold Newman Arena.
The Stars earned nine all-American honors while scoring 154.5 points. Menlo (Calif.) captured the team title.
Five OCU wrestlers placed third at their respective weights – Margaret Douma at 143 pounds, Sydney Freund at 130, Cassidy Jasperson at 116, Destiny Lyng at 136 and Rachel Watters at 170. Raven Guidry collected fourth place in the 109-pound division, while Cierra Foster took sixth among the 143-pounders. Daniela Flores picked up eighth at 123.
Nwankwo, a redshirt freshman from Rosenberg, Texas, fell short 7-5 to Paige Baynes of Wayland Baptist (Texas) in the 191-pound championship final. Nwankwo pinned two opponents, finishing off Missouri Baptist's Angel Ochoa in 29 seconds and Leilani Camargo-Naone of Midland (Neb.) in 1:22. She finished the season with a 16-7 record and as both an NAIA and WCWA all-American.
Douma, a senior from Napa, Calif., won the 143-pound third-place match by fall in 1:21 over Zoe Wight from Life (Ga.). Douma notched three pins on the day, completing a 30-second fall of Life's Morgan Shines and a pin of Missouri Valley's Lori Archuleta in 1:54. Douma put together a 13-11 mark with eight falls this season to forge a 77-44 career record with 45 pins. Douma became a five-time all-American with three WCWA all-American and two NAIA all-American nods.
Freund, a sophomore from San Tan Valley, Ariz., reeled in a third-place finish after edging Anesia Ramirez from Southern Oregon 2-1. Freund rolled through the consolation bracket with four wins, including a 2-1 victory over Savannah Vold of Waldorf (Iowa). She went 12-10 this season.
Jasperson, a senior from League City, Texas, overwhelmed Madison Angelito of Cumberlands (Ky.) 12-0 to post a third-place showing at 116 pounds. Jasperson accumulated three falls along the way, pinning Gabrielle Grimes of Missouri Valley in 54 seconds and Taryn Ichimura of Menlo in 55 seconds. Jasperson posted a 20-8 record and 10 pins this season and a 75-32 mark with 47 falls as a Star. She earned three WCWA all-American honors and two NAIA all-American accolades.
Lyng, a freshman from La Mesa, Calif., trampled Bridgette Duty of Cumberlands 10-0 to gain a third-place showing at 136. Lyng (22-10) fought her way to the third-place match with three wins in the consolation rounds. She pinned three opponents Saturday.
Watters, a junior from Ankeny, Iowa, collected third place at 170 following a 4-4 win over Mariah Harris from Campbellsville (Ky.). Watters posted a pair of technical-fall wins in the tournament. She is 6-3 this season.
Guidry, a sophomore from Lafayette, La., finished fourth after dropping a 6-2 decision to Life's Tyesha Topps. Guidry (17-12) notched WCWA and NAIA all-American acclaim.
Foster, a redshirt freshman from Post Falls, Idaho, took sixth with honorable-mention all-American honors in her first action as a Star. Foster's first college pin came in 3:24 against Joy Muniz of Jamestown (N.D.). She was 3-3 on Saturday.
Flores, a senior from El Paso, Texas, lost 6-5 to Arianna Marrufo of Jamestown in the seventh-place bout at 123 to make honorable-mention all-American. Flores went 15-13 this season and 53-50 in her OCU career. Flores finished with one WCWA all-American honor and two NAIA all-American awards.OCU won the inaugural NAIA Invitational behind three champions and 15 all-Americans Dec. 5, 2015 at Campbellsville, Ky.

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Players Mentioned

Margaret Douma: 143; 5' 3"; Senior

Daniela Flores: 130; 5' 3"; Senior

Sydney Freund: 136; 5' 4"; Sophomore

Raven Guidry: 109; 5' 1"; Sophomore

Cassidy Jasperson: 116; 5' 2"; Senior

Rachel Watters: 155; 5' 7"; Junior

Nkechinyere Nwankwo: 170; 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Cierra Foster: 123; 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Destiny Lyng: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Margaret Douma
: 5' 3"; Senior
: 143

Daniela Flores
: 5' 3"; Senior
: 130

Sydney Freund
: 5' 4"; Sophomore
: 136

Raven Guidry
: 5' 1"; Sophomore
: 109

Cassidy Jasperson
: 5' 2"; Senior
: 116

Rachel Watters
: 5' 7"; Junior
: 155

Nkechinyere Nwankwo
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman
: 170

Cierra Foster
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman
: 123

Destiny Lyng
: Freshman