ARIZONA GAINS
Both the women and men both showed out at ERAU
By Brandon Petersen
Both Westcliff wrestling programs wrapped up a demanding two-day stretch in Prescott, Arizona with standout individual performances on both the men's and women's sides, highlighted by a tournament title, a runner-up finish, and several ranked wins as the Warriors continued to build momentum early in the season.
The women placed sixth overall as a team, led by Barbara Greenberg, who captured the 110-pound championship — Westcliff's first open title of the season.
Vanessa Alvarado added a runner-up finish at 124 pounds, and multiple Warriors logged wins throughout the bracket.
Savannah Sequeira (124), Abby Mendoza (131), Genesis Rivera (180) and others gained valuable mat time, while Jasselle Martinez (131), Leslie Garcia (145), and Katelyn Siason (145) each picked up victories in their respective divisions.
Natalie Gonzales closed the day with a sixth-place finish at 180 pounds.
Jeslyn Ledezma picked up a win, and Berlyn Davis finished fourth overall.
"On the women's side, it was awesome to earn our first open champion of the season," head coach D'Rell Gist said. "Barbara came away with the title at 110 pounds, and Vanessa reaching the finals in her first-ever college tournament as a true freshman was incredible to see."
The men battled through three duals on Friday before returning for the open tournament on Saturday.
In dual-meet action, the Warriors fell 28–16 to No. 9 Embry-Riddle, rolled past Utah Tech 40–12 for their first dual-meet win of the year, and closed the day with a loss to No. 15 Arizona Christian.
Despite the tough slate, Gist said he was encouraged by the fight up and down the roster.
"Today brought its share of highs and lows, but overall there were a ton of positives to build on as the season continues," he said. "There are definitely areas we need to keep improving, but I'm proud of the effort across the board."
The open tournament brought two podium finishes for the men, led by a breakout performance from Joey Mora.
Competing in a stacked bracket, Mora went 4–1 and finished second, including a marquee win over the No. 17 wrestler in the country from Doane. His lone loss came in the finals by decision to the nation's No. 4 wrestler at the weight class.
"Joey had a huge win over the 17th-ranked wrestler in the country but lost in the finals by decision to the No. 4 ranked wrestler," Gist said. "He wrestled tough all day."
Santiago Pacheco also reached the podium, going 4–1 on his way to a third-place finish. His day included an avenged loss against the No. 17 ranked wrestler in the country from Arizona Christian.
"Santi had a great day too," Gist said. "He went toe-to-toe in a close match with a top-3 guy in the conference yesterday, and today he came back and avenged that previous loss. That was big."
Several Warriors contributed multiple wins throughout the tournament, including Davis Shaposhnick, Brian Geiger and Armando Sandoval, who each finished 2–2.
"Overall we wrestled tough, took home some good ranked wins, and I'm proud of how the guys battled," Gist said. "The effort this weekend showed where we're headed, and we've got a lot to build on and a lot to look forward to."
Both the men and women will now gear up for a dual at Victor Valley College Wednesday, before hosting the first ever Warrior Classic Friday.