Sacred Heart finished second at the East Stroudsburg Open Sunday. From left: Alexandra Fitzgerald, Madison Sandquist, Aalyyah Payne-Parris, Belen Rios, Cara Broadus and Julia Mullane. (Photos courtesy SHU women’s wrestling)
No. 13 Sacred Heart began their second varsity season with an outstanding performance Sunday at the East Stroudsburg Open with six medalists and four finalists as the Pioneers finished second behind No. 2 King University out of Bristol, Tenn.
Sacred Heart finished ahead of five other top 20 teams in the tournament including No. 7 Tiffin (Ohio) University and No. 10 New Jersey City University. It’s the best tournament finish in team history for the Pioneers, who finished fourth at the Lindenwood Open a year ago.
Aaliyah Payne-Paris (101), Belen Rios (136), Maddie Sandqust (155) and Cara Broadus (191) each finished second for Sacred Heart with Ally Fitzgerald (130) and Julia Mullane (136) each finishing third.
With eight individual champions, King easily won the tournament with 66 points with Sacred Heart finishing second with 33 points. No. 11 Gannon was third with 23 points. Western New England University out of Springfield, which made its varsity debut last week, was sixth in the field of 14 teams.
Sandquist, a returning All-American, bumped up a weight class to finish second at 155. A tech fall and two pins put her in the finals where she fell to sixth-ranked Tiffani Baublitz from King. Sandquist was second in this tournament a year ago.
In her SHU debut, Cara Broadus from Plymouth recorded a trio of tech falls to advance to the finals of 191 pounds. She lost a narrow 4-2 decision to Brock’s Briana Fraser.
In their first collegiate action, two Pioneers made it all the way to the finals.
At 136 pounds, Rios started her collegiate career with two pins and a tech fall. Her run was ended by Gabby Bradigan of Elmria in the finals. Payne-Parris used a tech fall and pin to get her spot in the finals of 101 pounds. She was defeated by King’s Avery Kibelbeck in the championship bout.
Fitzgerald, a sophomore, started her SHU career with a pin and tech fall at 130 pounds before falling in the semifinals. She came back to post a 12-0 tech fall over Mackenzie Buck of Tiffin to claim third.
Mullane won her collegiate debut but lost in the semifinals. She rebounded to beat Western New England’s Kendall Branchaud, 10-0, in the third-place match of 136 pounds.
All-American Jacklyn Smith opened the tournament with two wins, including a tech fall, to advance to the semifinals of 170 pounds. She lost her next two matches to finish fourth.
Selena Sifuentes Shaffer started her collegiate career with a pin at 143 pounds, but dropped the next match. She worked her way through the consolation bracket with three pins, including one in the fifth place match.
The Pioneers return to action on Saturday at the Adrian (Michigan) Dual meet tournament. The next day, Sacred Heart will compete in the Adrian Open.
Five wrestlers from Western New England University earned medals in the tournament, led by Plainville’s Dakota Marie Dinelli, who finished third at 143 pounds. Dinelli beat Leslie Monterrosa of Elmira College to take the quarterfinal match, 18-8 before losing in the semifinals. Dinelli finished third with a win by pin over Michaela Rankin of Brock University.
Kendall Brachaud (136) was fourth with Emma Heslin (101) finishing fifth and Victornia Orender (123) finishing sixth. Bristol Eastern’s Ella Nichols (155) won five straight matches in the consolation round to finish fifth.
2022 East Stroudsburg Open
At East Stroudsburg, Pa.
Team results – King University, 62, 2. Sacred Heart 33, 3. Gannon 23, 4. East Stroudsburg 20, 5. Elmira 18, 6. Western New England 12, 7. Brock University and Tiffin University 10, 9. NewJersey City University 9, 10. Unattached 5, 11. Wyoming Seminar 4, 12. Alvernia University 3, 13. Montreat College 0
Championship matches
101 Avery Kibelbek (King) pin Aaliyah Payne-Parris (Sacred Heart), 2:30
109 Sage Mortimer (King) dec. Dianna Holmes (King), 6-0
116 Samara Chavez (King) tech fall Izabella Frezzo (New Jersey City University), 12-2 4:21
123 Vayle Baker Benton, (King) VPO1 Sofia Macaluso (ESU), 6-6
130 Montana Delawder (King) tech fall Mia Macaluso (ESU), 18-7 5:39
136 Gabby Bradigan (Elmria) pin Carolina Maureira (Sacred Heart), 10-5 4:16
143 Ana Luciano (King) tech fall Viktorya Torres WA (King), 10-0 0:55
155 Tiffani Baublitz (King) dec. Madison Sandquist (Sacred Heart), 8-1
170 Cheyenne Bowman (King) dec. Jewel Gonzalez Erie, PA (Gannon (W)), 12-2
191 Brianna Fraser (Brock) dec. Cara Broadus (Sacred Heart), 4-2
Consolation finals (third place)
101 Olivia Klein Paramus, NJ (unattached) pin Nevaeh Blevins (Alvernia University), 1:42
109 Julianne Moccia Erie, PA (Gannon) pin Jenavi Alejandro (Tiffin), 0:27
116 Abby Duke (Elmria College) tech fall Natalie Dunn (ESU), 15-2 5:01
123 Naomi Henry (New Jersey City University) dec. Melanie Mendoza (King), 5-2
130 Alexandra Fitzgerald (Sacred Heart) tech fall Mackenzie Buck (Tiffin), 12-0 1:47
136 Julia Mullane (Sacred Heart) tech fall Kendall Branchaud (Western NE), 10-0 2:48
143 Dakota-Marie Dinielli (Western NE) pin Michaela Rankin (Brock University), 1:39
155 Skylah Chakouian (Elmria College) pin Lili Ujfalvi (Gannon), 4-4 2:56
170 Annabelle Helm (Gannon) dec. Jacklyn Smith (Sacred Heart), 2-1
191 Shola Casen (ESU) tech fall Jhanae Douglas (Elmria College), 11-1 3:13
Fifth place
101 Emma Heslin (Western NE) pin Skylynn Tommlinson (Elmria College), 13-8 3:55
109 Clare Booe (Wyoming Seminary) pin Jessica Corredor (King), 4-0 2:04
116 Emily Klein (ESU) pin Jade Nguyen (Gannon (W)), 4-0 1:26
123 Virginia Foard Kingston, PA (Wyoming Seminary) tech fall Victoria Orender (Western NE), 10-0 0:29
130 Jayden Bazemore (Gannon) pin Michaiah Allen (Montreat College), 2-0 0:23
136 Michal Buska (Tiffin) tech fall Maura White Jefferson, NJ (unattached), 12-1 3:26
143 Selena Sifuentes Shaffer (Sacred Heart) pin Stephanie Floor (Gannon), 2-0 1:53
155 Ella Nichols (Western NE) pin Vanessa Keefe (Brock University), 8-4 2:09
170 Taryn Martin (Tiffin) tech fall Samira Stephens (Gannon), 10-0 0:49
191 Kendall McGarity (Gannon) pin Felisha Smith (ESU), 4-0 0:20
Tournament results
