By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Mesa University won the first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women’s Wrestling Championship team title Tuesday, with five individual titles pacing a 149.5-point outing in the second edition of the championship, Saturday at Reid Arena on the Colorado College campus.
The Mavericks outlasted regular-season champion Simon Fraser University, who finished second with 129 points and three individual wins. Chadron State College claimed third place with 82.5 points, while Adams State was fourth with 73.5 points and two individual titles. Texas Woman’s University was fifth with 68.5 points.
After awarding only individual titles in the championship's first season last year, the RMAC awarded its first-ever team tournament title this season.
Adams State sophomore Austria Holland, the 110-pound champion, was named the Wrestler of the Championship following the tournament in a vote of the league’s head coaches. She marched through the 110-pound bracket as the No. 2 seed, winning in the first round with a technical fall before using a 10-2 decision in the semifinals to reach the championship. Holland downed No. 1 seed Sophia Cornish of Colorado Mesa by a 10-6 decision to claim the title.
Colorado Mesa was led by 103-pound champion Jennesis Martinez, who claimed her second RMAC individual championship. Hania Halverson also won the 131-pound class after winning at 123 pounds last season. Other Mavericks wins were claimed by Marjorie McDaniel at 117 pounds, Lorianna Piestewa at 124 pounds, and Erica Schroeder at 145 pounds.
Simon Fraser won the championship’s final three matches to tighten the final standings. Julia Ritchey earned her second straight RMAC victory, winning at 207 pounds. Lene McCrackin claimed the 160-pound crown, and Paige Maher took the 180-pound title.
The RMAC’s five teams now focus on the 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Regionals, which take place Feb. 22 and 23 at eight regional sites. The 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships will be held March 7-8 at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.