Nelson, Thurber win their brackets

For MMC

The UW-Stevens Point women’s wrestling team hosted the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships Northwest Regionals on Feb. 21.

Six UWSP wrestlers advanced to nationals with Abby Nelson (Iron River) and Brooke Thurber (Nekoosa) winning their bracket.

Nelson went 2-0 to win the 116 bracket. She needed just 36 seconds to win by fall over Iowa Wesleyan’s Ashden Welty in the semifinals. In the finals, she took a 14-2 tech fall victory over Sarah Martinez of North Central.

Thurber needed just 49 seconds to win her bracket. She received a bye until the finals and pinned Kate Cacho of NCC in under a minute.

Tabitha Breitrick (Clintonville) took second in the 191 bracket. She won by fall in the quarterfinals at 1:18 over Alondra Aguayo of NCC. In the semifinals, she needed 2:59 to win by fall over Kassandra Ayard from IWU. Breitrick came up short in the finals in a 7-4 decision.

Savannah Hisel (LaValle) finished third in the 143 bracket. She earned a win by fall at 51 seconds in the third-place match against Raena Schledwitz of NCC.

Morgan Bethea (Neillsville) and Kelly Enriquez (Waukesha) placed fourth in the 123 and 109 brackets, respectively. Addison Young (New London) and Megan Struble (Seymour) finished fifth in the 130 and 136 brackets.

The Pointers will next compete at nationals in Tiffin, OH, on March 6.