OCU Finishes As WCWA Runner-Up

Oklahoma City University finished as Women's College Wrestling Association runner-up Saturday at the King College Student Center Complex.

Joey Miller and Emily Webster of OCU collected individual national championships for the second year in a row as 15 Stars became all-Americans. No. 1-ranked Simon Fraser (British Columbia) edged the second-ranked Stars 116-109 in the team standings to win the national title. OCU had captured the last four WCWA national championships and took national runner-up for the second time in program history.

OCU's national runners-up were Stephanie Geltmacher at 143 pounds, Brittney Roberts at 170 and Heather O'Connor at 191. Stars finishing third place were Kristi Garr (109), Brieana Delgado (123) and Kayla Aggio (136).

OCU individuals taking fourth were Audrey Morehouse (130), Beatrize Martinez (136) and Demi Strub (155), while Brianna Rahall picked up fifth at 101. Logan Rich finished seventh at 116, and Kaitlyn Eddy at 123 and Sherese Thomas at 191 each took eighth.

Miller and Roberts became four-time all-Americans, bringing OCU's number to six four-time all-Americans in the program's six-year history. Garr, Geltmacher and Morehouse each garnered all-American honors for the third time, while Delgado, O'Connor, Rahall, Strub and Webster became two-time all-Americans.

OCU clung to a 109-108 edge in the team standings after Danielle Lappage of Simon Fraser won the 155-pound national crown. The last two matches of the tournament pitted OCU vs. Simon Fraser head-to-head.

Miller, a senior from Woodward, Okla., prevailed 0-1, 3-1, 3-1 over Jacarra Winchester of Missouri Valley for the 116-pound national championship. Miller advanced to the national-title match with a 0-6, 2-1, 5-0 victory over Kayla Brendlinger of King (Tenn.).

In her OCU career, Miller set the Stars' career record with 72 falls, surpassing Michaela Hutchison's 71. Miller put together a 127-27 record and holds OCU's single-season win record with 42 compiled as a junior last season. She shares the Stars' single-season pin record of 23 with Hutchison gathered in 2011-12. Miller became a three-time finalist, taking runner-up as a freshman in 2008-09 and third place as a sophomore in 2010-11.

Webster, a sophomore from Sedalia, Mo., pinned Caitlyn Chase of Missouri Baptist in 2:00 to win the 101-pound national title. Webster rolled to the national crown by pinning all four of her opponents in the tournament. She made her second consecutive national final by pinning Shannon Constantine of King 7-0, 3-3, 0:23. Webster finished the season 30-1 with 15 falls.

Roberts, a senior from Santa Fe, Texas, fell 1-0, 1-0 to Justina DiStasio of Simon Fraser in the 170-pound title match. Roberts won 1-0, 3-0 over Brittany David of Lindenwood (Mo.) to get to the national-title bout. As a Star, Roberts went 118-36 with 42 falls and three third-place national finishes.

Geltmacher, a junior from Kahaluui, Hawaii, dropped a 0-1, 3-1, 6-0 decision to Sidney Morrison of Simon Fraser competing for the 143-pound national championship. Geltmacher won by fall over Simon Fraser's Bailey Halvorson in 1:59 in the national semifinals. Geltmacher is a two-time national finalist.

Jenna McLatchy of Simon Fraser defeated O'Connor 1-4, 4-0, 4-1 for the 191-pound crown. O'Connor, a sophomore from Napa, Calif., beat Angela Vyborny of Wayland Baptist (Texas) 4-0, 6-0 to put herself into the national-title match.

Morehouse, a senior from Moreno Valley, Calif., finished her OCU career with a 102-30 ledger with 34 pins. Morehouse was 2012 130-pound national runner-up.

Rich, a senior from Hope, Maine, completed her Stars career by earning her first all-American nod. Rich's OCU record was 49-46 with 28 falls. As a senior, Rich went 23-7 with a team-high 18 pins.

OCU has finished as either national champion or national runner-up in the six years of the program's existence.

Stars garner academic accolades

OCU took a WCWA academic team award, and three Stars grabbed individual academic awards by maintaining 3.5 GPAs – Martinez, Roberts and Webster. Martinez took the award for the second year in a row.