Four women with Connecticut ties earned medals and All-American honors at USA Wrestling’s recent 2024 Women’s National Championship meet in Spokane, Washington on April 12-14.
Stratford’s Kayla Batres of Greens Farms Academy in Westport finished third in the U17 (17-and-under) weight class at 53 kilograms. Her younger sister, Karina Batres, finished third at 75 pounds in the U12 division.
Southbury’s Sarah Henckel, a student at Blair Academy in Blair, N.J., finished fourth at 69 kilograms in the U17 tournament while Love Daley from Sacred Heart University finished third in 76 kilograms in the U20 division, earning a spot in the U20 national team.
Kayla Batres went 6-1 in the U17 tournament at 53 kg (116 pounds) to finish third. She easily won her first two matches by a combined score of 20-0 before dropping a two-point decision in the quarterfinals to Indiana’s Amelia Murphy.
Kayla Batres recovered to win four consecutive matches to finish third with a 8-1 win over Murphy. She finished with three technical falls and a pin among her six victories. Kayla won her third All-American medal in this meet. Last year, she was third at 50kg in the U15 tournament and third at 49 kg in the U17 tournament.
Karina Batres went 3-1 at 75 pounds in the U12 tournament to finish third. After losing in the semifinals, Karina won two straight matches by a combined score of 18-0 to take third.
Henckel won her first three matches with two technical fall victories to advance to the 69 kg (152 pounds) semifinals before getting shutout by dropping a 10-0 decision to eventual national champion Kalli Manuel of Michigan.
Henckel advanced to the consolation final with a 4-2 win over New Jersey’s Ella Poalillo with a third period takedown but Henckel dropped an 5-1 decision to Iowa’s Skylar Slade to finish fourth.
It was her second All-American medal from the event. She was second at 69 kg last year in the U17 division.
Daley, who completed her freshman year at Sacred Heart, went 6-1 to take third at 76 kg (167 pounds). Daley won four straight consolation round bouts with three pins and a technical fall after a quarterfinal loss.
Daley pinned Washington State’s Clarissa Wangen in 2:51 to take third. Daley, who is from Baltimore, earned All-American honors at Sacred Heart this past season wrestling at 170 pounds with a fifth place finish at the national championship meet.
Marlborough’s Emma Heslin from Lock Haven University participated at the meet and went 3-2, one win shy of a medal at 50 kilograms in the U23 tournament.
