Five Champs Lead Statesmen to First-Ever Conference Title
Oskaloosa--Five individuals topped the podium as the William Penn women's wrestling team rallied to win its first-ever league title at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Saturday.
WPU finished first out of 10 teams with 215 points, slipping by rival Grand View by just one point to earn the crown.
The navy and gold faced a fairly insurmountable deficit entering the championship round, but were flush with a total of six finalists in 110-pounder Mia Palumbo (Grad., Oak Lawn, Ill., Master's of Sports Management), 117-pounder Christianah Ogunsanya (So., Akure, Nigeria, Kinesiology), 124-pounder Victoria Baez Dilone (Grad., Madrid, Spain, Master's of Sports Management), 138-pounder Esther Kolawole (So., Akure, Nigeria, Kinesiology), 180-pounder Piper Fowler (Fr., Cleveland, Tenn., Psychology), and 207-pounder Phoebe Burt (Sr., Coralville, Iowa, Sociology).
The Vikings, on the other hand, also had plenty of representation with five finalists (two at 103 pounds).
When the dust settled, though, the Statesmen finished 5-1 in the finals to claim gold, while GVU was 2-3 (double forfeit at 103 pounds) and settled for silver. The squads had three head-to-head matchups in the finals with WPU going 2-1 in those bouts.
The comeback began with a bang via Palumbo's 10-0 technical fall of Tristan Nitta of Grand View.. The graduate student, who was named Co-Heart Tournament Outstanding Wrestler, posted a 4-0 record, including two technical falls and two falls.
Ogunsanya then followed Palumbo with her own 10-0 technical fall, doing so against Missouri Valley's Zao Estrada. The sophomore finished 4-0 with four technical falls.
The parade of three-straight Statesmen champions was capped by Baez Dilone pinning Berlin Kiddoo of Central Methodist in 1:49. Two technical falls and one fall were produced by the graduate student en route to her 4-0 day. Her efforts were rewarded by being named the league's Newcomer of the Year.
The proverbial train stayed on the tracks for Kolawole two weights later as she took care of Serenity De La Garza (Missouri Valley) by an 11-0 technical fall. The sophomore's 3-0 Championship outing featured a trio of technical falls.
The four bracket winners had allowed WPU to overtake the Vikings in the team race. Fowler then slammed the door shut as she met up with GVU's Andjela Prijovic. The Heart's Freshman of the Year award recipient had her hand raised with a fall in a time of 1:49 to complete the William Penn rally. She finished 3-0 on the day.
Burt unfortunately could not add to the navy and gold edge, but she still grabbed silver at 2-1 (two decisions). Her lone setback came to the No. 2 wrestler in the country.
The five conference champions breaks the old school record of four (2023-2024, 2024-2025).
The six finalists did not do all of WPU's damage, however. The remaining six Statesmen each won at least one match, led by third-place finishers Avy Perez (Fr., Mission Hills, Calif., Nursing) at 110 pounds and Kendall Bostelman (Sr., Napoleon, Ohio, Exercise Science) at 131 pounds.
Entering as the No. 6 seed in her bracket, Perez knocked off the fourth and fifth-seeded individuals as part of a four-win showing. All four of her victories came via technical fall.
Bostelman won three times, including two technical falls and one fall, as she was also a bronze medalist.
Fellow 131-pounder Bronwyn Brenneman (Sr., Parnell, Iowa, Biology) essentially tied for third (forfeited to Bostelman in the third-place match). The senior's three wins were all accomplished by fall.
124-pounder Tatiana Paragas (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii, Exercise Science) and 180-pounder Diara Pomares (Fr., Hemet, Calif., Fine Arts) placed sixth as well. Paragas' two wins were by decision, while Pomares claimed a fall in her two-victory performance.
145-pounder Naida Abdijanovic (Sr., St. Louis, Mo., Biology) also once heard the sound of the mat being slapped in her favor Saturday.
"I am really proud of our team coming together and finding their way to their first conference championship," Head Coach Jake Kadel said. "We have a lot of incredible coaches in Cash Wilcke, Riley Aamold, and Dylan McConville who invest a ton into the ladies. I am so glad they were able to cherish a moment like today. More importantly, for this senior class, we have had a lot of years coming close to winning, but it has never happened. I really believe there is no better senior class that deserves it more than these ladies."
