NAIA Women's Wrestling Nationals Recap
JAMESTOWN, ND – Sitlaly Sanchez and Angelique Cervantes made history this past weekend by becoming the first Warriors to compete at the NAIA Women's Wrestling National Invitational. Both of the LPU wrestlers competed hard at the tournament and Sitlaly Sanchez came within one mat of finishing as an All-American. Cervantes and Sanchez ending their season at the National Tournament as Freshman has set the tone for their athletic careers moving forward. With the season coming to an end, the Warriors will now focus on preparation for the upcoming season later this year.
How did it feel to wrestle in the National Tournament?
I felt nervous at first because it was my first collegiate competition, but it felt great to be back on the mat doing what I love. I feel like it was all a learning experience and a great opportunity to be able to compete.
What did you learn this year that can be taken into next year?
Something that I learned this year at nationals would be that I am small compared to a lot of the other 101 wrestlers so this off-season it is time to start lifting a lot and getting bigger and working more on my freestyle wrestling so that next year at nationals I can do better and get on that podium.
How did it feel to wrestle in the National Tournament?
I feel grateful for this opportunity I was given to fly out there and compete, so I could get a taste of what to expect in these high-level tournaments. As my first college tournament of the year, I feel like I performed well for someone who has just been in practice for about a month, which was totally out of our control.
What did you learn this year that can be taken into next year?
I know what I must work on. It gave me a free year to just get a feel of college and college wrestling itself with no expectations. This year was just a trial. So, when next season starts I already know what's expected and what I need to do to succeed. I got to know my coaches and my teammates better. We spent some time on the mat and lifting and it is a good environment, the kind I know I will thrive in. This learning experience showed me that when things get hard you still must show up and grind because a lot of people will take the easy way out if they can.
Coach Roye Oliver
As for Coach Jaime and I, we believe our overall experience of the tournament was an absolute honor and it was also mesmerizing. Being able to see all this competition for our ladies made Coach Jaime Jr. and I more hungry to build our Women's program for next year. We believe our ladies need comradery like most teams do to build each other up when needed. However, both of our girls still wrestled their hearts out and I could not be happier with that. With very little experience in this level of competition and style of wrestling, they did everything we worked on; Coach Jaime Jr and I are extremely excited to help our team get to the next level. Furthermore, being such a young team, we have a lot of room for improvement next year, and goals to be one of the top 10 teams in the Nation. There is no doubt in my mind, our ladies will come back even stronger next year because Life Pacific University will be well known and heard of next year!