FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – Continuing to show their penchant for elite performances when competing in a tournament background, the seventh-ranked Presbyterian College women’s wrestling team ratcheted up their season win count to 137 in the Robert Horton Open on Sunday afternoon, displaying their sixth and seventh combined 1St– place trophies from Samantha Miller (101) and Paige Wehrmeister (136). Behind 15 total wins from five different entries and three other finishes inside the top four, the Blue Hose asserted themselves once again in the field of 20+ teams, leaving with more hardware than most.
Garnering four pins and seven other decisions via technical fall (three of them from Wehrmeister, the freshman wonder), Presbyterian largely cruised to a high ceiling that seems to be touched with each time they take to the mat. Catherine “CG” Bertrand, Cassandra Lopezand Sierra Marie Miller helped the Blue Hose take over their sides of the bracket on Sunday, now accounting for 28 top-four placements since the campaign’s beginning in November.
NOTABLES
– As per usual with interim coach Brian Vutianitis‘ core, the wealth was divvied around the group noticeably, with the team as a whole going 15-6 across the event. With four chances at a #1 spot – ultimately converting on half of them – Presbyterian left Franklin Springs with their 11th championship-or-runner-up designation, carried by yet another Wehrmeister crown, the fourth time over her rookie year earning 1St-place next to a 24-3 personal record.
– Sam Miller ensured the story wasn’t solely rested on one individual’s shoulders, syncing up with Wehrmeister for a combined 7-0 run and the second top prize of her junior stint. The Parkersburg, West Virginia native has finished no less than third in all five of PC’s tournament efforts this season, defiantly beating King’s Avery Kibelbek for the 101-lb. trophy via a 14-4 tech, souring the day’s ending for her regional foe currently ranked two spots higher.
– Not letting a narrow decision in the finals affect her impact on the loaded 123-lb. bracket, Bertrand’s three consecutive prior victories (two by TF) amounted to an added difference of 30-4, granting the sophomore 19 W’s on the year and a raised hand in eight out of her last 10 attempts.
– Lopez would join Bertrand in the company of a lone defeat in the title round, winning back-to-back in the 109 group by pinfall and four-point decision. By picking up her highest finish in a tournament setting of her senior slate, the Maryland product has joined with Miller and Wehrmeister to acquire 65 total wins since November.
– Embarking on the longest path of any PC grappler down in the Peach State, Sierra Marie Miller’s 4th-place standing comes after a pair of pins over Emmanuel’s Samantha Larios and Alberta’s Amy Bell, gaining those falls in only 88 seconds put together. The second-year West Virginian added a 12-1 technical over the University of Florida’s Kimberly Iglesias as an added bonus, becoming the fourth Blue Hose member to surpass 20 wins over the past two and a half months.
– When penciling in the seven TF’s collected from the group at the close of the weekend, one can denote that Presbyterian has assembled exactly 40 wins of that variety, further proof to PC’s never-changing status as an NWCA Top Ten program this season. The statistics behind this Blue Hose club only reach more impressive heights with each passing week, harvesting more national recognition at every turn.
RESULTS
101 – Samantha Miller (3-0), 1St please
Samantha Miller (PC) def. Dyanne Pelaez (New Jersey City) by Fall, 0:45
Samantha Miller (PC) def. Elizabeth Dosado (Cumberlands) by Dec., 6-4
Samantha Miller (PC) def. Avery Kibelbek (King) by TF, 14-4
109 – Cassandra Lopez (2-1), 2n.d please
Cassandra Lopez (PC) def. Miranda DiBenedetto (Big Bend CC) by Fall, 0:59
Cassandra Lopez (PC) def. Izabella Frezzo (New Jersey City) by Dec. 16-12
Dianna Holmes (King) def. Cassandra Lopez (PC) by TF, 10-0
123 – Catherine “CG” Bertrand (3-1), 2n.d please
Catherine “CG” Bertrand (PC) def. Trinity Howard (Montreat) by TF, 12-2
Catherine “CG” Bertrand (PC) def. Katrina Kling (NYC RTC) by Dec. 8-2
Catherine “CG” Bertrand (PC) def. Lauren Stone (Florida) by TF, 10-0
Naomi Henry (New Jersey City) def. Catherine “CG” Bertrand by Dec., 6-2
130 – Sierra Marie Miller (3-2), 4th please
Sierra Marie Miller (PC) def. Kimberly Iglesias (Florida) by TF, 12-1
Sierra Marie Miller (PC) def. Samantha Larios (Emmanuel) by Fall, 0:51
Angela Vitiritti (Campbellsville) def. Sierra Marie Miller (PC) by Fall, 2:11
Sierra Marie Miller (PC) def. Amy Bell (Alberta) by Fall, 0:36
Sarah Savidge (Life) def. Sierra Marie Miller (PC) by TF, 10-0
136 – Paige Wehrmeister (4-0), 1St please
Paige Wehrmeister (PC) def. Madison Alcon (Liberty) by TF, 10-0
Paige Wehrmeister (PC) def. Kayla Zeppetelli (New Jersey City) by TF, 10-0
Paige Wehrmeister (PC) def. Juliana Baugher (Campbellsville) by TF, 10-0
Paige Wehrmeister (PC) def. Esperanza Dorantes (Campbellsville) by Inj., 1:54
155 – Isabella Badon (0-2)
Kendra Thompson (Campbellsville) def. Isabella Badon (PC) by TF, 11-0
Sierra Chavez (Campbellsville) def. Isabella Badon (PC) by Dec., 3-1
UP NEXT
– Only five days from now, the Blue Hose will turn right around and head back to Emmanuel, although this time for a head-to-head dual instead of another multi-team episode. PC will visit the Lions on Friday, January 27 in what will be the final one-on-one of the regular season as the southeast and regional championship tourneys draw closer.
– Presbyterian will look to dish the Lions a dose of payback from a 33-13 loss back in February of 2021, searching for their seventh duals triumph of the year against a team who will stroll into the meeting with a 13-6 mark.