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DENTON, Texas – Softball will have to wait a few more weeks for Minot State’s two-sport student-athlete Haleigh Lematta.
Lematta extended her wrestling season on Sunday as she earned her first trip to the NCWWC National Championships, finishing fourth in the 143-pound weight class and then winning a wrestle-off at the NCWWC Region VI Tournament hosted by Texas Woman’s University.
“Haleigh’s tournament was one to remember and our coaching staff is proud to have her represent us at the national tournament,” Minot State coach Brittney Mitchem said.
Lematta becomes the fourth Minot State women’s wrestler to qualify for nationals in just two years as a collegiate program. She joins Jazmin Gorder, Annika Gotlieb, and Nina Sandoval who all qualified for nationals last year in the Beavers inaugural season.
Lematta will be the lone Beaver at nationals this year, but teammate Julia Petryna was poised to make the trip, as well, finishing fifth in the 116-pound weight class and earning a spot in a wrestle-off only to fall to Jaia Ashley of Schreiner University in that extra match.
“Our hearts go out to Julia as well who lost a heartbreaker for her true fourth-place match to qualify for the national tournament,” Mitchem said.
Petryna went 3-2 on the day picking up a 10-0 technical fall victory over teammate Skye Shelmerdine and a 15-5 technical fall win over Sioux Falls’ Paige Denke, then collecting a forfeit victory over Cassandra Witte of Chadron State in the fifth-place match to earn her shot in the wrestle-off.
As for Lematta, her day started with a 6-3 decision win over Linfield’s Klaira Flatt in the championship quarterfinals before a tie-breaker loss in the semifinals sent her into consolation-bracket action.
In the consolation semifinals, Lematta pinned Karstin Hollen of Chadron State in 3 minutes, 21 seconds before falling by pin in the third-place match to Erica Schroeder of Colorado Mesa.
Unfazed by the setback, Lematta took the mat with nationals at stake and pinned Jermariah Ferguson of the host school, Texas Woman’s, in 2:47, earning a spot at the NCWWC National Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 9-10.
The performance of Lematta and Petryna helped lead the Beavers to a seventh-place finish as a team with 34 points in the 10-team regional.
Adding to the Beavers score was Ari Korish at 123 pounds as she finished eighth and picked up a win by forfeit over teammate Jazmin Gorder on the day, and Madison Parsons who also finished eighth at 191 pounds.
“This year’s regional tournament was a true dog fight,” Mitchem said. “We had some real great moments and some moments we can use as learning experiences. We are a young team and are continuing to grow and improve, which makes it super exciting for the future.
“All in all, we walked away, for the second year in a row, sending our team to nationals.”
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