FORT WORTH, Texas- The SAC Women's Wrestling Championships took place this weekend (Feb. 25). With multiple nationally ranked schools present, there was some tough competition for the conference title. Overall, the Spartans placed second with four individual titles and two silvers.

Alyssa Quezaire was the Spartans representative in the 101-pound bracket. In round one Quezaire was putting up point after point until she was able to pin her opponent at 5:43. In round two, the freshman finished off her opponent in similar fashion but even faster. She pinned her opponent in only 44 seconds. In her third round, she was going for gold taking on 18^th ranked, Jolie Lucas with Texas Weslayn. While it was a tough match, it was nothing the 7th ranked Quezaire couldn't handle. She defeated her opponent by decision, 17-8.

At 116-pounds, Juliana Diaz made her way to the finals be securing two tech fall victories. The first was against No. 20 ranked, Mia Arceneaux where she shut her down, 10-0. Similarly, she earned another 10-0 victory against No. 16 ranked, Iby Garcia. In her final match, the Orlando, Florida native took on Camille Fournier who is ranked just below Diaz at 4^th. They went the full two periods as it was a close match up. Diaz ultimately prevailed over her opponent by decision 10-8, securing first.

In the 123-pound bracket, Karoline Ortiz was another Spartan who claimed an individual title. Like Diaz, her first two bouts ended with tech fall victories. In period one against her first opponent, she earned nine points in a row. In the second she finished the match off quick with another two. In the semifinals she took on 16^th ranked, Tess Barnett. Ortiz took control early in the match with four points. Her opponent managed to earn two for herself but shut her down and earned eight points in a row. She took the individual title by tech fall, 12-2. The Davenport, Florida native took on the No. four ranked Sophia Smith for the gold. In a tight bout, Ortiz was able to earn the upset and downed her opponent by decision 7-7.

Josette Partney was the last of the Spartans to take first place at 143-pounds. In the first round, she made quick work of her opponent, pinning her in only 30 seconds. Partney's next bout lasted only a little longer, with a tech fall victory in under a minute, winning 10-0. The sophomores third match up, she won over her adversary by tech fall 11-0 in the second period. In the final round, Partney took on fellow Spartan, Dymeria Guillory. She won the match up by with a pin at 0:46.

Other medal finishes came from Eunique Davis and Anastasia Hardin. Davis in the 136-pound bracket, won two of her three matches. Her first was with a pin at 1:25 with the upset against 11^th ranked Maryellen Lafferty. Her second victory came by tech fall, 10-0 earning herself second place. Hardin pulled things off in the same way but in reverse. The sophomore earned a tech fall victory against her first opponent, 11-0. Her last match up she prevailed with a pin in 0:46 seconds to earn a second place finish of her own.

Taryn Johnson and Dymeria Guillory finished the tournament in fourth while Riley White and Abigail Mattson took sixth. Overall, the Spartans earned 103 points, just behind Texas Wesleyan who had 108.5.

Our national qualifiers will be heading to Jamestown, N.D. to take on the NAIA Women's Wrestling National Championships on Mar. 10.
 
SAC Awards:
Most Outstanding Wrestler- Juliana Diaz
Most Falls- Josette Partney
Newcomer of the Year- Anastasia Hardin