Hicks qualifies for national tournament, Simpson places fourth at regionals

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Emme Hicks secured a spot at the national tournament with a fourth-place finish at 101 pounds and the Simpson College women's wrestling team placed fourth as a team at the NCWWC Region V Championships hosted inside Cowles Fieldhouse.

The Storm compiled 71.0 team points to finish behind No. 2 Iowa (220.0), No. 4 McKendree (193.0) and No. 22 Lindenwood (106.0). Simpson was the top Division III team, beating out two other ranked teams in No. 11 William Jewell (63.5) and No. 16 Wartburg (61.0).

Hicks fell 10-0 in her first match of the day, but bounced back with two straight wins to secure a spot in the third-place bout. She defeated Megan Valdez of Lindenwood by a score of 8-5 before earning a 10-0 technical fall over Kiona Conner of McKendree. In the third-place match, she was edged 4-0 by McKendree's Lizette Rodriguez, who came into the day ranked No. 5 by the NWCA.

Four other wrestlers fell one place shy of punching a ticket to Cedar Rapids, including Keeley Kehrli who was pinned in a wrestle back opportunity at 155 pounds. Kehrli earned a pair of wins over teammate Noa Arnold earlier in the day, but fell 10-0 to No. 9 Bella Mir (Iowa) and Alana Duggan (Lindenwood).

Kassidee Savaria dropped to the back side of the 170 bracket after surrendering a late pin in the quarterfinals. She won her first consolation match with a pin over Katt Mossinghoff (Lindenwood), but came up short 8-2 against No. 3 Haley Ward (Iowa). Savaria earned a fifth place finish with her second pin of the day against Emma Thomas (Lindenwood).

Sarah Zimmerman (109) and Jalynn Goodale (116) also captured fifth place in their brackets. Zimmerman beat Consuelo Garcia (McKendree) 17-6 and won via an injury default in the fifth-place bout, while Goodale earned a pair of technical falls before edging Wartburg's Liannette Ortiz 3-2.

UP NEXT
Hicks will make her way to Cedar Rapids for the NCWWC National Championships scheduled for March 8-9 at the prestigious Alliant Energy Powerhouse.

MEET RESULTS
101 - Emaline Hicks: 2-2, 4th place
101 - Devyn Moore: 1-3, 6th place
109 - Emma Wissman: 2-2, 7th place
109 - Sarah Zimmerman: 2-2, 5th place
116 - Jalynn Goodale: 3-2, 5th place
116 - Lainie Burkhart: 1-2, 7th place
130 - Ashley Cannon: 1-3, 6th place
130 - Lily McMahon: 1-2, 7th place
136 - Vanessa Elexpuru: 1-3, 8th place
136 - Adelle Patterson: 0-2
143 - April Archibeque: 0-2
155 - Noa Arnold: 3-3, 6th place
155 - Keeley Kehrli: 2-3, 5th place
170 - Kassidee Savaria: 2-2, 5th place

TEAM SCORES
1. Iowa, 220.0
2. McKendree, 193.0
3. Lindenwood, 106.0
4. Simpson, 71.0
5. William Jewell, 63.5
6. Wartburg, 61.0
7. Quincy, 58.5
8. Buena Vista, 17.0
9. Eureka 14.0

NOTES

• Emaline Hicks becomes the second national qualifier in program history. Jenna Joseph advanced to nationals last season. 
• Kassidee Savaria (27), Sarah Zimmerman (24), Keeley Kehrli (23) and Jalynn Goodale (21) all completed their first seasons with 20 or more wins.