ATHERTON, Calif. – The 10^th-ranked Missouri Baptist University women's wrestling team didn't have to wait long for a high-caliber tournament to see how they measure up against other top programs around the country. MBU packed its bags for the Menlo College Open in California which featured five other NAIA Top 10 programs – No. 1 Menlo, No. 2 Life, No. 5 Providence, No. 6 Southern Oregon, and No. 9 Texas Wesleyan – along with a pair of Top 10 NJCAA squads.
 
The ultra-competitive tournament provided an opportunity for returners and newcomers alike to step up with the lights shining bright. Seven Spartans placed in the top eight of their respective weight classes with plenty of Top 20 wins to go around.
 
Senior Karoline Ortiz, who has been traveling the world with Team Puerto Rico this past year, wrestled unattached and made it all the way to the first-place match at 130 before falling 7-4 to Southern Oregon's Carolina Moreno, the NAIA's No. 1-ranked wrestler at 123 pounds. Along the way, Ortiz won by tech fall (TF, 10-0), decision over No. 17 Elizabeth Duvall of Texas Wesleyan, and won 8-4 in the semifinals over the No. 1 at 130 pounds.
 
Freshman Faith Macharia had one of the more impressive runs to her third-place finish. After battling it out with the eventual champion at 170 lbs. – Kalila Shrive of No. 1 Menlo – Macharia fought her way through the consolation bracket and won five matches in a row. The freshman from Fort Worth, Texas had one tech fall win, one by decision, and three via pins. Macharia finished the tournament off with a 11-2 win over No. 13 Kacey Lee Pua (Providence), and back-to-back pins.
 
Sophomore Juliana Diaz started off the tourney with three consecutive tech fall wins – 11-0, 10-0, 12-1 – before falling in a 9-4 decision to 116-pound No. 1 Camille Fournier of Texas Wesleyan. Diaz bounced back in the consolation semifinal with an 8-2 win over 123-pound No. 2 Alana Vivas of Menlo. In her third straight ranked match, Diaz dropped a close one, 8-4, to 123-pound No. 12 Anna Kresja (Life), and finished fourth overall.
 
The Spartans had another fourth-place finish by way of freshman Janiah Jones, who also wrestled unattached. Following a quarterfinal loss [D, 12-3] to No. 2-ranked Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp (Providence), Jones responded with three wins in a row including an upset win [D, 8-2] over third-ranked Riley Dalrymple of Life University.
 
Josette Partney [155 lbs.], Lillian McCollum [101 lbs.], and Alyssa King [109 lbs.] each placed sixth in their respective weight classes. Partney won her first three matches highlighted by a 4-2 win over No. 4-ranked Shannon Workinger (Menlo) to vault her into the semifinals. Unfortunately, she faced a gauntlet at 155 with losses to No. 3 Caitlyn Davis, No. 15 Leilani Hernandez, and No. 10 Sadie Antoque. Freshman Alyssa King battled in the consolation bracket with three consecutive wins and finished the day 3-3, while McCollum picked up two early wins before dropping the next three.
 
Anastasia Hardin, also competing in the 155 bracket, went 2-2 on the day with one of her wins coming against No. 15-ranked Leilani Hernandez, who won in a rematch in the consolation fifth round.
 
Andrea Karagiannis, Chloe Herrick, Abigail Mattson, and Emma Schreiber each picked up one win apiece.
 
(10) Missouri Baptist def. William Woods, 42-6
Earlier in the week, the Spartans kicked off the 2023-24 season with a dual against first-year program William Woods University. No. 10-ranked MBU won with ease, 42-6.
 
In all, 130 lbs., 170 lbs. and 191 lbs. were the only weight classes that wrestled for points. Lillian McCollum, Lillian Hackworth, Andrea Karagiannis, Juliana Diaz, Cara Cheng, and Dymeria Guillory all received wins by forfeit at their respective weight class.
 
At 130 lbs., freshman Choe Herrick edged out Owls' Caden Winkler in her debut in a 10-8 decision. Josette Partney, one of the Spartans' returning All-Americans, defeated Abby Piper via tech fall [11-0] in 1 minute, 58 seconds. Junior Emma Schreiber fell behind 4-3 but reversed that moment by pinning WWU's Lily Burns at the 1:45 mark.
 
Both Cara Cheng and Faith Macharia won their exhibition matches in similar fashion with pins at 2:25 and 2:32. William Woods only points on the night came from a default win at 136 lbs.