Rodriguez Qualifies for U.S. Olympic Trials

The U.S. Senior Nationals meet was held this weekend in Fort Worth, Texas. The Tiger Wrestling Club, which has members from the Doane Women's Wrestling program, was represented this weekend by three Doane Tigers. Taking the mat on Friday at 57kg was Cristelle Rodriguez, while Bridgette Sotomayor and Ashlee Palimo'o wrestled at 62kg on Saturday.

Rodriguez opened action against fellow California native, Makayla Correa. Correa is wrestling at Emmanuel College, a NCAA Division II institution. Rodriguez needed just 1:13 to post a 10-0 tech fall win. In the Round of 16, she took on the 2023 U20 Pan-American Champion, Virginia Foard. It took nearly the entire first period but Rodriguez was able to post a 12-0 tech fall win in 2:59.

The third match of the day was against a three-time NCWWC National Champion from NCAA Division II McKendree University. Cameron Guerin, ranked No. 1 at 130 in the NCAA, stood across from Rodriguez and jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Rodriguez was able to get on the board with a takedown with 18 seconds remaining in the opening period and trailed by three points at the break. In the second period, Rodriguez took the lead with a four-point takedown and added two quick points for an 8-5 advantage. She added a takedown in the final 80 seconds to post a 10-5 win as she scored the final 10 points.

In the semifinals, Rodriguez met the No. 1 seed, Alexandra Hedrick. Hedrick was a World Championship bronze medal winner in 2022. After a scoreless opening two minutes of action, Hedrick was able to record a takedown and followed with three rollovers to take an 8-0 lead. Hedrick finished with an 11-0 tech fall win at 2:26.

On Saturday, Rodriguez would face Foard once again with the winner clinching a bid to the U.S. Olympic Trials in April. Foard came out aggressively but Rodriguez was able to hold off the initial shoots. Rodriguez recorded a four-point takedown 54 seconds into the match and maintained the advantage until she added a two-point takedown at 2:11. She followed with two rollovers to post a 10-0 tech fall win in 2:19.

The Third Place match was set to pit Rodriguez against Shelby Moore. The two last met in the championship round of the 2023 U.S. National Championships. Rodriguez won the best two-of-three match-up, 2-1. However, due to a lingering injury and a bid to the U.S. Olympic Trials clinched, Rodriguez took an injury default loss.

Sotomayor opened her tournament on Saturday against Anna Stephens out of Missouri. Stephens wrestles at Westminster (Mo.), a NCAA Division III squad, where she is 7-2 on the season. Sotomayor scored the first takedown, 28 seconds into the match. Stephens tied the match with a takedown at 1:49. Sotomayor took the lead into the break with a takedown at 2:26. Early in the second period, Sotomayor added a takedown and midway through the period, she hit a four-point takedown for an 8-0 lead. She was able to finish off the takedown by recording a pin at 4:45.

Palimo'o took on Estella Gutches, a wrestler from McKendree University who is 11-5 on the season. Gutches was able to take an 8-0 lead in the opening period behind takedown and rollover points. In the second period, Gutches was able to earn a pair of single points by driving Palimo'o backwards and out-of-bounds.

In the Round of 32, Sotomayor took on Ana Luciano. A year removed from winning the 2023 NCWWC National Championship at 136, Luciano was a five-time All-American at King University, a NCAA Division II institution. The match started quickly in Luciano's favor as she picked up a takedown and two rollovers in the opening 16 seconds. She landed a four-point takedown at 1:03 to pick up a 10-0 tech fall win over Sotomayor.

With both members of the Tiger Wrestling Club in the consolation bracket, the pairings led to the two teammates battling to extend their stay. The two were scoreless through two minutes before a penalty point was awarded to Sotomayor as Palimo'o was deemed to be passive. Sotomayor picked up a takedown at 2:40 for a 3-0 lead at the period break. Sotomayor picked up a takedown at 3:39 as she won 5-0 to eliminate Palimo'o.

In the next consolation match for Sotomayor, she took on Kendall Bostelman, a sophomore at North Central College. She earned NCWWC All-American honors last year by placing sixth at nationals for the NCAA Division III school. Bostelman jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Sotomayor picked up a takedown late in the first period. In the second period, Bostelman added two takedowns while Sotomayor had one. The final score was 10-4 in Bostelman's favor to eliminate Sotomayor.