Rodriguez Wins NAIA National Title

Doane Women's Wrestling completed their second season of competition on Saturday evening with the crowning of the program's first NAIA National Champion. Cristelle Rodriguez, a sophomore from Clovis, California, finished off an undefeated season and won the 123-pound title at the event held in Jamestown, N.D.

Following the completion of the meet, the NAIA announced several honors. Rodriguez was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament as well as the NAIA Women's Wrestler of the Year. She joins former Doane men's wrestler Baagii Boldmaa who brought home both honors during the 2022 men's championships.

Rodriguez went 5-0 at the two-day national tournament, finishing her year at 23-0 (22-0 at 123). She opened action on Friday with a pin (1:59) of Trinity Howard of Montreat (N.C.) in the Round of 32. In the Round of 16, she defeated Loretta Lopez of Vanguard (Calif.) by technical fall, 10-0, in 51 seconds. On Friday evening in the Quarterfinal Round, Rodriguez defeated Catharine Campbell of Grand View (Iowa), seeded eighth, by technical fall, 12-2, in 43 seconds.

Entering the tournament, Rodriguez had only one match go the distance and that was against her Semifinal Round opponent, Sophia Smith of Oklahoma City, seeded fourth. The two met up on Saturday morning with a bid to the Championship at stake and Rodriguez posted a 10-0 technical fall win in 1:37.

Standing across the mat from Rodriguez in the finals was Maya Davis of Grand View, seeded third in the tournament but the wrestler who held down the No. 2 ranking in the weight class most of the year. Rodriguez picked up a takedown in the opening 30 seconds for a 2-0 lead. Then 55 seconds into the match, she hit a takedown followed by three exposure rollovers to post a 10-0 technical fall win in 1:38.

Last season, Rodriguez placed third at the NAIA National Championships in the 130-pound division with a record of 17-2. However, in the early part of the 2022-23 campaign, she wrestled at 123 where she was 11-0. In total, she now has a 33-0 record while wrestling at 123 and an overall mark of 40-2 as a Tiger.

Rodriguez is far from done this season as she will start to turn her attention toward qualifying to represent Team USA at the 2024 20U World Championships by competing in Spokane, Washington, from April 12-14 at the U.S. Marine Corp Women's National Championships where she is the defending champion. She will then fly towards the east coast to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials from April 19-20 in State College, Pennsylvania, looking to earn a bid to the Paris Olympics.