FORT WAYNE, IN. – Menlo Women's Wrestling sent a squad to Fort Wayne for the Warrior Open hosted by Indiana Tech. Of the 9 wrestlers that hit the mats, 4 Oaks placed in the top 7 and Ajayzee Zaballos took the 116-Champion title after going 5-0 on the day!
Ajayzee Zaballos - Champion (116)
#7 nationally ranked junior Ajayzee Zaballos was not to be messed with today as she fought her way to the championship title. Zaballos began the day with back-to-back 10-0 tech falls over opponents from Adrian and Alma. In the quarterfinals, she faced #18 Kaylee Annis from Southern Oregon where she tallied another 12-1 tech fall. After earning a 13-4 decision in the semifinals, it was one match away from winning it all. What stood between Ajayzee and the title was #5 Icart Galumette from Campbellsville. The Oak pulled out all the tricks for her final 15-4 tech fall of the day to officially take the crown. This is Ajayzees first time winning a title in the 2023-24 season!
Haley Narahara - 5th place (123)
Haley returned to the mats once again this season in Fort Wayne. The All-American totaled two tech falls over Iowa and Alma opponents, both by a score of 10-0. One more 16-6 tech fall over Cameron Ortiz (Campbellsville) would send Narahara to the quarterfinals. Two losses put Haley in the 5th place match against Alicia Frank from Providence. Haley did not allow a single point against and added up a 10-0 tech fall to walk away a 5th placed finisher.
Alexandra Lopez - 5th place (143)
Alexandra went 3-2 on the day after a first round bye. Two of her victories were tech falls, one over Natalie Kutzli (Rochester) by a 10-0 margin and the second was over Kailey Rees (Providence) by a score of 12-2. A forfeit in the 5th place match would give the Oaks another placer in the Open!
Nikita Dhaliwal - 7th place (170)
Nikita also went 3-2 at the Warrior Open. The senior earned a pin in just 39 seconds over Tia Leahy of Tiffin. Nikita also added a 4-1 decision victory over Grace Doering (Indiana Tech) to eventually land in the 7th place match. After wrestling through the first period, Dhaliwal was able to lay down the pin to secure the 7th place finish!
Up Next….
Menlo Women's Wrestling will head to Des Moines, Iowa on February 3rd for the Grand View Open!