Council Bluffs, IA – For the third consecutive year, the Indian Hills Women's Wrestling team captured the national championship, this time as the first-ever National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women's Wrestling Invitational champs.
The Warriors scored 287 team points while bringing home four individual national champions to run away with the national championship in the first year of sanctioned women's wrestling at the NJCAA level. Indian Hills previously won the Junior College National Championship (JCNC) in back-to-back years before joining the NJCAA for the 2022-23 campaign.
The Warriors saw individual national titles from freshman Dutchess King (Lansing, IL/Thornton Fractional South) in the 101lb bracket, freshman Shammilka Miranda Diaz (Puerto Rico/Eugenio Guerra Cruz) in the 116lb bracket, Alondra Rosado Martinez (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio Amarlieen) at 136lbs, and freshman Eliana Bommarito (Brighton, MI/Hartland) at 235lbs. The four national champions are tied for the most in program history, joining the 2022 squad.
In total, 17 individuals earned NJCAA All-American honors as the Warriors produced a second-place finish, two third-place finishes, two fourth-place finishes, five fifth-place finishes, and three sixth-place finishes. The 17 All-Americans are the most in school history.
Bommarito was selected as the NJCAA Most Outstanding Wrestler after dominating the 235lb bracket. Bommarito earned two falls in a tech fall in the championship bout to win the national title in her first season as a member of the Indian Hills squad.
Head Coach Cole Spree was selected as the NJCAA's Women's Wrestling Coach of the Year after guiding the Warriors to the national title for the third consecutive year.
ICYMI! It was a historic night as @ihccwrestling nabbed the first-ever @NJCAAWrestling Women's National Invitational Championship! Freshman heavyweight Eliana Bommarito was awarded the meet's Outstanding Wrestler, & Cole Spree was named the NJCAA Women's Coach of the Year! pic.twitter.com/oeLPushZxb
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) March 5, 2023
The Warriors will be welcomed home with a national championship celebration at 2:00 PM in Centerville, IA on the Indian Hills Centerville Campus.
101lbs
Dutchess King, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, became the second 101lb national champion in school history after recording an 8-0 tech fall in the semifinals before upending No. 1 overall seed Nicole Montojo of Iowa Western.
109lbs
Sophomore Malachite Chunn (Jacksonville, FL/Jacksonville) placed third overall in the 109lb bracket to earn her second All-American honor in as many seasons for the Warriors. Chunn, the No. 4 seed, upset No. 3 seed Dianna Pineda of Iowa Central to place third.
116lbs
Shammilka Miranda Diaz became the second consecutive national champion at 116lbs after knocking off No. 4 seed Flavia Nagatani of Iowa Western. Miranda Diaz used a 14-4 tech fall in the finals to win the national title.
The Warriors also saw an All-American performance from freshman Javanica Mickens (Orlando, FL/Jones). Mickens placed fifth overall after winning the fifth place match over No. 2 overall seed Kendall Martin of Southwestern Oregon Community College.
123lbs
Indian Hills earned two All-American honors in the 123lb bracket as sophomore Liannette Ortiz (Kissimmee, FL/Gateway) placed fourth overall while freshman Taylor Angle (Plains, MT/Plains) earned a sixth-place finish for the Warriors.
136lbs
Alondra Rosado Martinez became just the second-ever two-time national champion in program history as the sophomore ran through the 136lb bracket. Rosado Martinez, the No. 2 seed, scored a 5-0 vcitory in the championship match over No. 4 seed Princess Altsisi of Iowa Central.
Rosado Martinez also took home the 136lb national championship in Roseburg, OR in 2022 and is the first-ever three-time All-American in school history after earning a second-place finish during the COVID-2021 season.
Sophomore Malia Cook (Muscatine, IA/Muscatine) also earned All-American honors for the Warriors with a fifth-place finish in the bracket.
143lbs
Indian Hills earned two All-American honors in the 143lb bracket as Lynexa Adams (Willard, MO/Willard) placed fifth overall and A'myrha Dylina-Syyan (Seattle, WA/Waynesville) placed sixth overall for the Warriors.
155lbs
Freshman Suravieve Robertson (Garner, AR/Beebe) placed third overall in the 155lb bracket to earn All-American honors for the Warriors. The freshman won the third-place bout with a fall in just 33 seconds to become just the second individual to earn All-American honors at 155lbs.
170lbs
Freshman Yaracely Saenz (Bernalillo, NM/Bernalillo) posted a fourth-place showing in the 170lb bracket to earn All-American honors. Saenz advanced to the championship semifinals as the No. 5 seed before falling in the third-place title match.
191lbs
Indian Hills saw a pair of All-American honors in the 191lb bracket as Tiffany White (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park River Forest) placed fifth overall and teammate Norma Alejondro (Olathe, CO/Olathe) placed sixth overall. White scored an 11-0 tech fall over Alejondro to earn the fifth-place finish.
235lbs
The Warriors' most dominant bracket came in the 235lb division as Indian Hills scored three All-American honors, including Bommarito's national title performance.
No. 1 seeded Bommarito used a fall in 35 seconds in the quarterfinals and a pin 1:55 in the semifinals to advance to title match against teammate and No. 2 seed Karla Zepeda Padilla (South Weber, UT/North Ridge). Bommarito earned an 11-0 tech fall in 2:50 to come away with the program's first-ever national championship at 235lbs.
Zepeda Padilla placed second overall for the Warriors after picking up two falls in the first two rounds of action while teammate Brooke Burns (Wellington, KS/Wellington) placed fifth overall to earn All-American honors for the Warriors.
THREE-PEAT! @IHCCWrestling collected its 3rd straight women's junior college National Championship tonight in Council Bluffs as the Warriors steamrolled their way to the first-ever @NJCAAWrestling National Invitational title by more than 50 points over runner-up @umpquacc (OR). pic.twitter.com/gOwmjz2vla
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) March 5, 2023
