U.S. Senior Last Chance Olympic Team Trials Qualifier, Cedar Falls, Iowa, April 3rd
There were four Iowa women who took to the mats Sunday in a final attempt to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trails to be held April 8-10 in Iowa City. At the conclusion of the tournament, one additional wrestler, Lauren Louvie 58 kg (127.9 lbs.) of Hawkeye Wrestling Club, had qualified. She joined fellow Iowans, Rachel Watters 69 kg (152.1 lbs.) of Ballard High School/Oklahoma City University RTC/Gator Wrestling, and Megan Black 58 kg of McKendree University as Iowa’s three female competitors to compete this weekend in Iowa City’s Carver Hawkeye Arena.
Sharice Schnell, 53 kg, of Denver (formerly of Missouri Valley College -Marshall, MO) and 3-time USA Wrestling Junior Women’s Freestyle All-American (Fargo) went 0-4 for the day giving up an 8-18 tech fall to Dajan Treder of Jamestown University (Jamestown, ND) in the first round followed by a loss by pin to Christina Powell of MoVal. In her third and fourth matches, Schnell lost by pin to Ricki Liang of King University (Bristol, TN) and Alicia Reyes of MoVal.
Anna Poyner, 58 kg, of New Hartford, went 1-2 for the day wrestling for Missouri Valley. Poyner started with a 0-10 tech fall loss to #6 ranked (USA Wrestling Senior rankings -December 2nd) Trinity Griffin of Colorado Springs, CO-Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. In her next match, Poyner won with a 1st period pin over Mackenzie Majewski (unattached) of Howell, MI. Poyner’s final match ended in a 0-10 tech fall loss to Laura Anderson (unattached) of Indio, CA.
Lauren Louive, 58 kg, of Massilon, Ohio (currently residing in Iowa), ranked #8 at 63 kg in the USA Wrestling Senior rankings (December 2nd) went 2-1 for the day. Louive wrestled collegiately for University of the Cumberlands and is currently wrestling for the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. Louive started the tournament with a bye followed by a pin over Laura Anderson (unattached) of Indio, CA. In the finals, Louive faced #6 ranked (USA Wrestling Senior rankings -December 2nd) Trinity Griffin of Colorado Springs, CO-Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club and lost by 2-12 tech fall. In the match for true-second, Louive posted a 1st period pin over #12 ranked (USA Wrestling Senior rankings) Koral Sugiyama of Campbellsville University (Campbellsville, KY) to become the 3rd female wrestler from Iowa to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trails.
Cassy Herkelman, 63 kg, of Cedar Falls, ranked #7 at 136 pounds in the WCWA rankings, went 0-2 for the weekend wrestling for McKendree University (Lebanon, IL). Herkelman, while wrestling with a torn ACL, started the tournament with a 0-10 tech fall loss to Rachael Shannon of Xtreme Training (formerly of Lindenwood University-St. Charles, MO.). Herkelman received a bye in her next round followed by a loss by injury forfeit.
Wrestling Schedule:
For those fans who plan to cheer on our Iowa women wrestlers this weekend, both the 53 kg and 69 kg weight classes will compete on Saturday with action starting at 9:00 a.m.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter: @watters_ia and @FEWTeamIowa.
Know of high school, college or senior women’s wrestling info that was missed? Email me at: matt@femaleelitewrestling.org.
Interested in the benefits of wrestling at any age level? Contact Charlotte Bailey of Female Elite Wrestling (FEW) at: coach@femaleelitewrestling.org to find out more.