Ray Shoaf
The Women Senior Nationals was over the top exciting with upsets galore in every weight that Texas Wrestlers were in. 9 Texas women were completing this weekend and all but 2 of them placed. Each bracket had Nationally and Internationally ranked women.
Starting off with the light weights at 50kg we had 4 Texas Wrestlers. We will start with Caryssa Aguirre wrestling for the Panhandle Club an Anderson HS Alumn who had the #1 seed Sarah Hildebrandt the 2018 World silver medalist in the first round and after losing got Samara Chavez the next round which had the same outcome. Tough first 2 matches for Aguirre. Next was Valerie Acosta whom had as good of luck as Aguirre going 0-2. Then we come to Cinco Ranch Alumn Charlotte Fowler whom had a bye the first round only to match up with the 3 seed for her first match of the day against Amy Fearnside a world team member. Things didnt go Fowlers way but she got a win over another Texas wrestler Acosta. Then Fowler runs into the #1 Nationally ranked High School wrestler Samara Chavez
another Texan from Arlington Martin HS and a Spartan Mat Club trained wrestler. Fowler a three-time WCWA All-American doesn’t get by Chavez and wrestles for 7th place which she gets the win over Trinity Rios of Florida.
Last but not least is Samara Chavez, a high school senior with her only Texas loss is to Camille Fournier her freshman year in the state finals. Chavez is also the #1 ranked nationally high school women at 112lb weight class. Chavez wins her first match over Trinity Rios to match up with the 2 seed Alyssa Lampe a 2x World Bronze medalist whom retired in 2016 and returned in 2019 to compete for the Olympic Team Trials. Chavez almost had the upset as she was leading when Lampe came from being down and wins 11-10. Chavez then gives Aguirre her 2nd loss. Then Chavez meets up with fellow texan Fowler whom she tech falls 10-0. In the consolation semi finals Chavez is up against Emily Shilson a 2018 Cadet World Champ and 2x Collegiate Women’s Champ. Shilson must of gotten injured in her semi finals match because she forfeited out giving Chavez the 3rd place match. Chavez has a chance to avenge her early loss up against Lampe for the 2nd time. Lampe steps up a notch and defeats Chavez 10-0 in the first period giving Chavez the 4th place finish. Great job by a high school girl competing against grown women years older then her on a senior level.
Next was the 53kg where 3x high school state champ Camille Fournier in her first year of college at Texas Wesleyan University with Coach Bedford would test her senior skills against a loaded 8 man bracket of all veteran senior national wrestlers. Fournier loses a tight one in her first round 12-12 against Amy Golding and again in her 2nd match to take a 7th place finish.
Here at 57kg was where the big explosion came. This weight had 3 Texas Women completing, Xochitl Mota-Pettis, Jasmine Davis, and De’Anna Prince but the stand out Mota-Pettis. Mota-Pettis had a first round bye before meeting up with the #1 seed Alli Reagan a 2x Silver Medalist at the senior nationals and ranked #2 on the senior level. Mota-
Pettis a 2x Fargo Champ herself within the first 1minute catches Reagan in a headlock and get the fall for one of the tournaments biggest upset thus far. Mota-Pettis breezes through the semi finals with a 10-0 victory and meets Lauren Louive the 2nd seed and not a stranger to the Senior Circuit and has a large senior tournament resume where it appears Mota-Pettis is going to win her first Senior Nationals title when in the last few seconds Mota-Pettis gets caught in a headlock and pinned giving Louive the come from behind victory giving 2nd place to Xochitl Mota-Pettis.
De’Anna Prince is next on the list, a wrestler for the Panhandle Club, a Wayland Baptist University wrestler had a bye the first round and drops her 2nd round match in a 12-5 decision. Prince then defeats her teammate Jasmine Davis in the cons4 to make the consolation semi finals where she wins on injury default to make the 3rd place match against the #1 seed Reagan. Prince takes 4th place. Jasmine Davis a McCallum HS alums in Austin also wrestling at Wayland University for Panhandle Club had a first round bye before meeting up with the #2 seed Lauren Louive where Davis loses on to many cautions. Davis’s loss to fellow team mate Prince puts her in the 7th place match where she wins by tech fall in the first period over Kairah Cantillo to take 7th place.
At 62kg it was a small 7 women bracket but it was loaded with the top national ranked women and then you had our Texas girls Lexie Basham the #4 seed and Bridgette Duty. Basham a 2x state champ and in her first year at Texas Wesleyan University had a first round bye before she meet up with the #1 seed Macey Kilty a 2x senior nationals placer, U23 Champ, 2x UWW champ, enough said Kilty is the real deal. Basham gets teched in the first sending her to the consolation semi finals where she gets the fall over the #3 seed Jackie Cataline who placed 5th at the senior nationals last year. This sets up the all Texas 3rd place match with Bridgette Duty. Duty started her first match off with an upset over the 3 seed Cataline. Duty
in her junior year at Cumberlands University place 4th last year at the senior nationals. This set up a meeting with the #2 seed and eventual champ Jennifer Page whom she lost too. Duty then got the injury default in the consolation semi finals from Fatima Avalos to set up the Basham vs Duty match for 3rd place. Duty looked to have the upper hand by leading into the 3rd period 7-3 and with less then a minute left Basham with a blast double puts Duty to her back for a 4 point throw giving Basham the edge on a 7-7 criteria but wait!, with one second left Basham gets the fall to take the 3rd place finish. Duty repeats her 4th place finish.
All in All the women did great. Although the brackets were smaller then a large tournament, every wrestler had world and national accomplishments. There was no easy matches. great job to all the Texas Girls
Womens results Below:
| 50kg | Caryssa Aguirre | DNP |
| 50kg | Samara Chavez | 4th |
| 50kg | Charlotte Fowler | 7th |
| 50kg | Valerie Acosta | DNP |
| 53kg | Camille Fournier | 7th |
| 57kg | Xochitl Mota-Pettis | 2nd |
| 57kg | De’Anna Prince | 4th |
| 57kg | Jasmine Davis | 7th |
| 62kg | Bridgette Duty | 4th |
| 62kg | Lexi Basham | 3rd |
