Council Bluffs, IA – The No. 1 nationally ranked Indian Hills Women's Wrestling squad picked up a statement win on Friday afternoon as the Warriors took down No. 3 Iowa Western Community College on the road. Indian Hills scored the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) win by a score of 28-26.
The Warriors won six of the 11 matches, including the decisive final bout of the day to remain undefeated in ICCAC action this year. Originally scheduled for a Wednesday night dual, the highly-touted matchup was moved to Friday due to unfavorable weather in the Council Bluffs area.
In the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings released on Friday morning, the Warriors topped the poll for the third straight release while the Reivers checked in at No. 3. The two squads combined for 30 individuals in the national rankings, including four No. 1 ranked individuals who were in action on Friday.
Friday's competition got underway with the marquee matchup as No. 1 Dutchess King (Lansing, IL/Thornton Fractional South) squared off with No. 2 Nicole Montojo. King, this week's ICCAC Wrestler of the Week wasted no time in putting the Warriors ahead as the freshman scored an 11-0 tech fall. King improved to 11-1 on the year in the 101lb weight class and has not lost since December 3.
After a Reiver win by forfeit in the 109lb weight class, the Warriors sent out No. 1 ranked Shammilka Miranda Diaz (Puerto Rico/Eugenio Guerra Cruz) to square off with No. 2 Flavia Nagatani. Miranda Diaz fell behind early as Nagatani built a 5-2 lead, but the freshman phenom for the Warriors scored 11 unanswered points to earn a 16-5 tech fall and put Indian Hills up 8-6.
The two teams traded pins as No. 2 Liannette Ortiz (Kissimmee, FL/Gateway) scored a fall just 15 seconds into the second round of the 123lb class while the Reivers earned a fall in the 130lb matchup.
Indian Hills earned a pair of wins by forfeit in the 136lb and 143lb class before Iowa Western earned three straight falls to take a 26-23 lead heading into the decisive 235lb matchup between No. 1 Eliana Bommarito (Brighton, MI/Hartland) and No. 5 McKenzie Parsons of Iowa Western.
Bommarito, who entered the afternoon undefeated on the year with three pins, built a 6-0 lead in the opening seconds of the bout before securing a pin in just 28 seconds of mat time. The fall gave the Warriors five team points and ultimately secured the dual victory for Indian Hills.
The dual proved to be the first-ever matchup between two top-three NJCAA programs as the sport of women's wrestling is in its first year of competition at the NJCAA level.
The Warriors will look to close out the ICCAC regular season with an undefeated record on January 25 in the team's final league dual of the year against Iowa Central Community College. Action gets underway at 7:00 PM in the Multi-Purpose Building on the Indian Hills Centerville campus.
