Franklin Springs, GA - After the best season in program history, the Lincoln Memorial Women's Wrestling team competed over the weekend in the NCAA Region III Championship meet, with LMU securing 16th-place in the tournament hosted by Emmanuel University.
The Railsplitters sent five to Franklin Springs to represent the team, with Riley Flickinger competing in the 124-pound division, Alyssa Roberts in the 131-division, Calista Gibson in the 138-class, Shonticia Taft in the 145-division, and Shandrea Morgan in the 160.
After falling in the opening round, Roberts earned a win in the first round of the consolation bracket, defeating Leigh-Anne Verburg of Southern Virginia University. Roberts jumped out to an early lead in the first period, getting a takedown 30 seconds into the bout. Roberts would continue adding pressure, racking up six nearfalls to secure a 10-0 Tech Fall win before bowing out in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Gibson would secure the same record in her bouts, as in the consolation bracket, Gibson would pick up a win over Seani Casperson, also of Southern Virginia. Gibson picked up eight points in the opening round, turning a takedown into a four-point near fall before coming out of her opponents reversal to secure another takedown. A two-point takedown to close the second period allowed Gibson to ride out a 10-5 win by Fall.
For Morgan, the tournament played out the same as with Roberts and Gibson. After falling in the opening match, Morgan would secure a win, with hers coming over Maddux Wukitch of McDaniel. Morgan would net two takedowns late in the first period, with the final pinning her opponent and securing the fall victory in 2:28.
After securing two conference wrestler of the week awards in the regular season, Taft showed her talents in the regional championship. Taft dominated the opening bout, securing a spot in the quarterfinals thanks to a five-point first period, before securing six points in the final 90 seconds to come back and win a 12-6 decision.
After falling to the consolation bracket, Taft secured another day of wrestling on Friday afternoon by turning an early 8-0 lead from her Marymount opponent into a pin, securing a four-point near fall and a Fall victory.
Taft started Saturday with a win, securing a spot in the fifth-place bout by defeating Arieana Bacon of Huntington. Taft fell behind 1-0 in the first period, but secured an early takedown followed by her second of the second period to come away with a 5-1 decision victory. Taft would fall in the fifth-place match, finishing 6th in the 145-pound division.
The Railsplitters secured 16th place, with 15 team points in the championship. LMU will wait until Friday the 27th for the NCAA Women's Wrestling Selection show to see if any individuals will be selected to travel to the championships in Iowa.
