CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Evergreen State College women's wrestling team opened the NWCA National Duals with a 36-11 loss to Texas Wesleyan University on Friday, Jan. 9 at the UNI Dome. The National Wrestling Coaches Association is sponsoring the meet, including the 16-team NAIA women's bracket.
Texas Wesleyan 36, Evergreen 11
Evergreen entered the tournament ranked #14 in the NAIA Women's Wrestling Top 20 Poll, while Texas Wesleyan was ranked #9 in the NAIA. With the win, Texas Wesleyan improved to 1-0 in dual meets. Evergreen moved to 3-1 in dual meets this season.
Winners for the Geoducks were Ellabelle Taylor (Jr.) and Shannon Workinger (Sr.). Nizhoni Tallman (Sr.) and Zeta Lee (So.) each picked up a point in the team standings despite losing their matches.
Taylor won in the 124-pound weight class with a fall against Violet De La Cruz. It took Taylor just 19 seconds to record the pin.
Workinger earned a win by technical fall at 160 pounds in just 1:02. She won 10-0 against Faith Vondy of TWU.
The Rams won five matches with pins. TWU's falls were registered by Nataleigh Zapata at 103 pounds, Elizabeth Duvall at 131 pounds, Samantha Barragan at 138 pounds, Taydem Khamjoi at 180 pounds, and Carla Campos at 207 pounds. Texas Wesleyan also won two matches by technical falls.
In the one match with a regular decision, Gracie Elliott of TWU downed Tallman from Evergreen 7-2. Elliott held a slim 2-1 lead after the first period.
Evergreen 23, Missouri Valley 21
On the strength of three wins by falls and another win by a technical fall, The Evergreen State College women's wrestling team registered a 23-21 victory over Missouri Valley College in the first round of the consolation bracket at the NWCA National Duals on Friday, Jan. 9. The tournament is taking place at the UNI Dome and is sponsored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Evergreen improved to 4-1 in dual matches, while Missouri Valley dropped to 2-2 in dual matches this year. The Geoducks entered the tournament ranked #14 in the NAIA Women's Wrestling Top 20 Poll, and Missouri Valley was ranked #12 in the NAIA.
The Geoducks who provided Evergreen with pins during their respective individual matches were
Nizhoni Tallman (Sr.) at 110 pounds,
Ellabelle Taylor (Jr.) at 124 pounds, and
Shannon Workinger (Sr.) at 160 pounds. All three are nationally ranked in the NAIA in their weight classes with Workinger ranked #4, Taylor ranked #9, and Tallman ranked #14.
Against Missouri Valley, Tallman won by fall early in the second period at the 3:19 mark in the 110-pound match. She was already leading 9-5 when she achieved the pin against Raquel Garcia. Taylor needed just 23 seconds to defeat Jasmina Immaeva with a pin at 124 pounds. Workinger prevailed in the match at 160 pounds with a fall versus Mya Willis midway through the first period at 1:38.
Winning for Evergreen with a 10-0 technical fall was
Haley Le (So.) in the 138-pound match against Gwendolyn Jewell of Missouri Valley. The match lasted 56 seconds.
Karen Salas (So.) also claimed a victory for the Geoducks, as she edged out Jay Avila 10-9 at 103 pounds. Avila led 6-4 after one period and held a 9-6 lead with 1:14 remaining in the match. Salas rallied with two points at the 43-second mark and two more points with 14 seconds left to grab the win.
Key winners for the Vikings were Jerzie Estrada with a pin at 131 pounds, plus Zao Estrada at 117 pounds, Sarina Bertram at 145 pounds, and Autumn Perez at 180 pounds -- all with technical falls.
The final match of the day between Evergreen's
Ariana Cavero-Santiago (So.) and Hollie Hedgpeth at 207 pounds ended in a 9-9 tie. Hedgpeth was credited with the win by a tie-breaker.
Southern Oregon 31, Evergreen 16
The Evergreen State College was defeated by Southern Oregon University 31-16 in the second round of the NAIA consolation bracket in women's wrestling on Friday, Jan. 9 at the NWCA National Duals. The tournament, sponsored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, is being held at the UNI Dome.
The Geoducks ended their appearance at the tournament with a 1-2 record during the National Duals and an overall record of 4-2 in dual matches this season. Southern Oregon moved into the semifinals of the consolation bracket while improving to 2-2 overall in dual matches. The Geoducks entered the tournament ranked #14 in the NAIA Women's Wrestling Top 20 Poll, and Southern Oregon was ranked #11 in the NAIA.
Evergreen and the Raiders split their head-to-head dual matches this season. The Geoducks defeated Southern Oregon 26-19 at the Costantino Recreation Center on Dec. 6, 2025.
In the rematch in Cedar Falls, the Raiders won six individual matches to earn the win, while Evergreen won four matches. Four of SOU's wins were by falls and two wins were on technical falls.
Evergreen's victories included a fall by
Karen Salas (So.) at 103 pounds and a win by technical fall by
Shannon Workinger (Sr.) at 160 pounds. Salas held a 5-4 lead before pinning Michaela Sarmiento of SOU 3:53 into the match. Workinger, ranked #4 in the NAIA, won her match 17-4 against Vida Boskovic.
Also winning matches for the Geoducks were
Nizhoni Tallman (Sr.) at 110 pounds and
Ellabelle Taylor in the 124-pound match. Tallman slipped past Briseis Serrano 9-7 after taking a 6-1 lead into the second period. Serran added two points three times to claim a 7-6 lead with 37 seconds left, but Tallman added one point with 16 seconds to play and two points with one second remaining.
Taylor narrowly missed a technical fall, which requires a 10-point margin, as she defeated Kaylee Annis 14-5 at 124 pounds. Taylor led throughout, starting with four points just 45 seconds into the match. She led 8-1 after one period. Annis cut the margin to 8-5 with 2:37 to go, before Taylor scored the last six points of the match.
Southern Oregon received wins by falls from Deandra Meza at 117 pounds, Jade Morales at 131 pounds, Holland Wieber at 145 pounds, and Kathryn Higano at 180 pounds. Makayla Correa of SOU downed
Haley Le (So.) 12-2 in a technical fall at 138 pounds and Lillian Gradillas-Flores won by a 10-0 technical fall for the Raiders at 207 pounds versus Evergreen's
Viktoriya Dovhoruka (Jr.).
The Geoducks will return to action by hosting the Evergreen Open at the Costantino Recreation Center on Sunday, Jan. 18. The women's division of the tournament will begin at 10 a.m. PST.