#15 Broncos Incredible Late Rally Stuns #5 William Penn, Secures 9th Place at NWCA Duals

(Cedar Falls, IA) – In their first competition of 2025, the women's wrestling team, ranked #15, went 3-2 at the NWCA Duals in the highly competitive two-day event at Cedar Falls, IA. 

They went 1-2 on day one, highlighted by a 29-18 win over (RV) Missouri Baptist University. On day two in the 9-12 place bracket, Hastings blew out #14 Texas Wesleyan, 40-10, then after trailing 22-1 to #5 William Penn, they made an incredible run by winning the last five bouts, including the last three by fall, to win 24-22 and secure ninth place.

Hastings dropped their opening dual on Friday against #8 Campbellsville University by a score of 36-9. In the dual, the Tigers won the first match at 103 by forfeit. Junior Rayleigh Guyer lost her match at 110 on a 6-3 decision, but managed to get Hastings on the board. Campbellsville won at 117, 124, and 131, two of which came by fall.

Sophomore Reagen Gallaway earned the first Bronco victory with a 10-5 decision over 11th-ranked Gabriella Perez at 138 to make the score 23-4. Campbellsville managed to win the next three matches at 145, 160, and 180, but junior Taylor Rickley won the final match of the dual by forfeit at 207, making the final 36-9.

In the second dual of the day, Hastings came out victorious over (RV) Missouri Baptist, winning 29-18. Trailing 8-0 after the forfeit at 103 and a 2-0 decision loss at 110, freshman Ruby Guerrero won by forfeit at 117, cutting the deficit to 8-5.

The Spartans won at 124 with a pin, but Hastings won the next three matches. Juniors Larissa Kaz and Lisa Hoeflich each took their bouts at 131 and 145 by forfeit and Gallaway dominated her opponent at 138, pinning her 30 seconds into the battle. Following Hoeflich's match, the Broncos led 20-13.

Hastings' lead was briefly cut to two with the Spartans winning by fall at 160, but Hastings closed out the dual with two victories. Senior Marissa Patterson won her bout at 180 by tech fall, then Rickley pinned Missouri Baptist at the 1:39 mark to put the finishing touches on the 29-18 win.

In their third and final dual of the day, Hastings lost to #7 Indiana Tech, 35-10. The Warriors jumped out to a 19-0 lead after the first four matches. Kaz took down the Warriors on a 17-6 tech fall at 131, then senior Tabitha Wood won on a 13-5 decision at 138 as Hastings trimmed the deficit to 21-7.

Indiana Tech won the bouts at 145 and 160, then Patterson got the last Bronco win of the day at 180 on a 5-2 decision over #13-ranked Catherine McNulty. The Warriors took the 35-10 win following a tech fall defeat at 207, sending the Broncos to the 9-12 place bracket for Saturday's duals.

Hastings came out on Saturday on a mission to bounce back from their 1-2 Friday showing, taking down #14 Texas Wesleyan convincingly, with a 40-10 blowout win. The Broncos won the first three matches by forfeit as freshman Dayrin Zarraga (103), Guyer (110), and Guerrero (117) gave Hastings an early 15-0 lead.

The Broncos forfeited the 124 match, but won the next four bouts, which included three pins. Kaz started the win streak with a forfeit win at 131, then Gallaway pinned Samantha Barragan, the #2 wrestler in the country at 138, less than two minutes in. Hoeflich won by fall at 145 at the 2:07 mark and freshman Izzy Deeds concluded the run with a fall at 160 in just over two minutes to put Hastings up 35-5.

Texas Wesleyan managed to get their second victory of the match at 180, but Rickley then dropped Abigail Fonseca, who is ranked 17th in the NAIA at 207, by fall to finalize the 40-10 win. The victory set the Broncos up with a ninth-place match against fifth-ranked William Penn.

The start of the match went the way of the Statesmen, as they secured each of the first five matches (two by forfeit), with Hastings mustering just one point from Guerrero to go down 22-1 halfway through the match.

Gallaway got things going for the Broncos, winning by a 10-0 tech fall at 138, then Hoeflich replicated that result at 145 to trim the lead to 22-8. Hastings then won the last three matches by pinning all three Statesmen. 

Deeds dropped Kylee Eastwood at 160 just over two minutes in, then Patterson pinned #14th-ranked Grace Gray at the 1:02 mark at 180. Rickley pushed the Broncos over the top with a fall in the final bout at 207 over Phoebe Burt, securing the 24-22 win after trailing by 21.

Up next, Hastings will compete at the York Open on Saturday, Jan. 18 in York, NE.