Crete, NE – Defending national champion Shammilka Miranda Diaz (Salinas, Puerto Rico/Eugenio Guerra Cruz) took home top honors at the Doane Conner /Oppenheim Open at the Fuhrer Field House in Crete, NE on Saturday.
Diaz was one of two individuals to earn a podium spot for the Warriors, joining fellow sophomore Dutchess King (Lansing, IL/Thornton Fractional South) who took second overall in the 101lb weight class. 17 individuals competed for the Warriors, with five additional wrestlers picking up multiple victories at the annual event.
Diaz, last year's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) 116lb national champion, went 4-0 on the mat for the Warriors to pick up the open victory. Diaz earned a first round fall in just 52 seconds to open the day before scoring a fall in 3:44 in the quarterfinals. The sophomore earned a spot in the championship bout after a fall in 4:11 in the semifinals. Diaz scored a 5-0 decision over William Penn University's Catherine Steinkamp to take home the first-place finish.
King finished as runner-up in the 101lb open bracket for the Warriors. The returning 101lb national champion from a year ago earned a quarterfinal fall in 3:22 before securing her second win of the year over Carl Albert State College's Calli Connally with a 12-10 decision in the semifinals.
Ruth Jimenez Batista (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Trina Padilla De Sanz) posted a 3-2 record in the 136lb open bracket. After dropping Saturday's opener, Batista earned a first round fall in 1:27 and scored back-to-back tech falls (13-2, 10-0) to advance in the consolation bracket.
Ja'nya Banks (Hobbs, NM/Hobbs) secured three wins, all by way of fall for the Warriors after opening the day with a pin in 1:34. After a second round loss, Banks bounced back for consecutive wins in the consolation bracket – a fall in 1:22 and a fall in 5:02 before dropping the consolation fourth round match.
Freshman Sarah Lewis (Centerville, IA/Centerville) scored two pins in the 143lb bracket, both coming in the first round, including a 35 second pin in the consolation bracket.
Amaria Ridgner (Richton Park, IL/Rich Township) earned two consolation bracket victories at 130lbs, a 10-0 tech fall and an 11-0 tech fall. Tanihya Wilson (Palm Bay, FL/Bayside) also earned a pair of tech falls for the Warriors in the 170lb bracket, picking up 10-0 and 14-3 victories for the Warriors.
The Warriors return home to take on Trinidad State College (CO) in a nonconference dual at 2:30 PM on December 10 in the Multi-Purpose Building.
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