Avila Competes at First NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships
JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Markayla Lottie and Byanca Cook capped off their excellent seasons by competing in the first annual NAIA Women's Wrestling National Championships in Jamestown, North Dakota on Friday, setting the standard for the bright future of a young program.
For the second time in as many seasons, Avila sent women's wrestlers to compete on the sport's biggest stage. Of course, the competition itself was different in 2023 compared to 2022 – Avila sent six wrestlers to the NAIA Invitational last season, but since the NAIA adopted women's wrestlers into an official championship sport ahead of this season, the qualification process was changed and the barrier for entry raised, meaning the Eagles were able to qualify two wrestlers this time around.
And while the structure of the competition was changed compared to last year, the quality of competition was affected even more greatly. Cook and Lottie have been two of the better wrestlers in their weight classes all season, especially recently, but this weekend at nationals they faced off against some of the very best wrestlers in the NAIA, putting into perspective just how strong the top tiers of combatants in this sport can be.
Lottie wrestled at 116 for much of this season but qualified for nationals down a weight at 109. She was awarded a bye in the first round of the bracket but as luck would have it was seeded in the same region as No. 1 seed Peyton Prussin of Life, one of the top wrestlers in the NAIA at any weight. Prussin won that match en route to her third national championship, and Lottie then fell to Valeria Ahumada of Siena Heights in the first round of the consolations, bringing her postseason run to an end.
Cook didn't have it much easier. One of the only wrestlers to not get a bye in the first round at 136, Cook first faced No. 6-seeded Bella Amaro of Southern Oregon and then faced No. 12-seed Taylor Howell of Campbellsville. Cook came up empty in both matches, ending her postseason run; Amaro placed fourth in the bracket and Howell just missed All-American status.
Southern Oregon won the first team title in NAIA Women's Wrestling history with a total of 160 team points, more than 20 points ahead of second-place Life. The title matchups were a lot more "chalky" and straightforward compared to the men's championships the previous week – either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed made it to the title match in nine of the ten weights, including six matchups between the top two seeds in the fields.
Despite going winless at nationals against stiff competition, the future for these two wrestlers, and for Avila women's wrestling as a whole, undoubtedly remains bright. Associate Head Coach Zach Revier gives the Avila women an almost exclusive head man, dedicated to their growth specifically, as Revier and head coach Graham Karwath continue to build the Avila wrestling program into one of the best programs in the Midwest, a path the team is certainly already blazing after just two seasons of competition.
