CORALVILLE, Iowa - The Spartan women's wrestling team finished 33rd out of 64 teams with 11 points at the conclusion of the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling National Championship on Saturday in Iowa.
York finished as the third-highest team out of Region II in 33rd-place overall, finishing behind only East Stroudsburg (16th) and Lock Haven (19th) out of the eight Region II programs represented at the national tournament.
Freshman 117-pounder Gisele Ramirez (30-6) made history with her victory over Brenna McCarley (Gannon) in her first match of the day on Friday which was the first win in program history at the national tournament. She is also the first Spartan to make it past day one at nationals. Ramirez battled back from a second round loss to No. 2 Sydney Petzinger (North Central) to win back-to-back matches via fall, including one against No. 9 Marjorie McDaniel (Colorado Mesa) in her final match on Friday. Ramirez closed out her nationals trip on Saturday morning with a 10-0 loss to No. 7 Alex Waitsman (William Jewell) in the blood round with Waitsman clinching a spot on the podium with the win.
Five other Spartans - Daisey Hawkins (17-19), Maura White (32-9), Kylie Monroe (7-6), Allison Brandt (18-14) and Emma Lavalle (18-15) - also competed on the day, but saw their seasons come to a close on the national stage. Brandt was the only Spartan out of that group to record a win as she went 1-2 at 180 lbs. with a fall against Hazel Dahlquist (Elmira) to get a win in her first match at the national tournament.
York had a pair of 30-win wrestlers in just the second season of competition with White leading the way with 32 wins and Ramirez finishing second with 30. Ramirez led the team with 27 falls and owned the fastest fall of the season at 0:16 seconds. White is the program's active career leader with two-year record of 52-16. Brand and Ramirez are both tied for second in career wins with 30 each.
