Portillo Bros Wrestling - Wrestlers of the Week (11.23.23 - 11.29.23)

All-Star Dual Results

With a light week of competition, due to the holidays, competitors at the NWCA All-Star dual had their results magnified. A late fill-in match at 157 pitted DII National champion Nick Novak of St. Cloud State against DIII National champion Nolan Hertel of UW-Lacrosse. In a very even match with some wild scrambles, Hertel prevailed thanks to a reversal in tiebreakers. 

Perhaps Alexis Janiak of Aurora beating Savidge of Life wasn’t a huge upset. We know both are great. But it was the method of victory that made Janiak’s the most shocking of the night. Savidge never had a chance to showcase her skill because Janiak finished a quick single straight into a leg lace. It turned what could have been a match of the night into a 30-second tech fall. In case you didn’t know, a leg lace needs to be in your arsenal, as well as plenty of time working on lace defense- it is a match-ender and can completely flip a result.

In the other women’s matches at the All-Star dual, we saw Samara Chavez of King take out Sydney Petzinger by fall. That match was wild, with Chavez being adamant on hitting her headlock; she hit it once, failed twice, then hit it again for the fall. In #1 NCAA vs. #1 NAIA, Marlynne Deede solidified herself as perhaps the best Hawkeye on the roster by winning a controlled bout over Life’s Latifah McBryde, 8-3. William Penn’s Adaugo Nwachukwu continues to impress as the #1 pound-for-pound female in college by taking out a very game Yele Aycock of North Central 11-7.

NJCAA Women Duals

In the top dual of the week, we saw #1 and #2 clash in Women’s NJCAA. The coach’s poll had Indian Hills at #1, while The Open Mat had Iowa Central at #1. When the dust settled Wednesday night, Indian Hills claimed the win 32-18. One large piece of that win was 101-pound Dutchess King getting back on the right track. She is the returning national champion but was ranked #6 on The Open Mat due to a few losses. Against The Open Mat’s current #1, Emma Lewis, King kickstarted the dual with a 12-2 tech fall. Immediately after King, her 109 teammates, #6 Javanica Mickens, pinned #2 Dianna Pineda in the first period, pushing Indian Hills to a 9-1 lead that they would not give up.

All of the Iowa junior colleges were in action Wednesday night. Iowa Western blanked NIACC, while Ellsworth won a back-and-forth dual over Iowa Lakes. Iowa Lakes had two big pins from Savanna Galindo and Emma Gomez, but Ellsworth’s 235 Gracie Orr clinched the win with a fall. Fun fact, NJCAA is the only women’s college division with 11 weights. The 235-pound weight class allows for more opportunities for more women to wrestle in college, and I would be hopeful the other divisions either add the weight or raise the upper weight limit of 191.