They're back: NAIA women's wrestling invades Jamestown this week

There will be more than 265 visitors in Jamestown this weekend.

March 12-13 will mark the third year the University of Jamestown will be hosting the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women's Wrestling Invitational at Harold Newman Arena. According to local organizers at the University of Jamestown, 32 teams are expected to compete in the Olympic Team Trials qualification invite.

"This being the third time we've set up for it, we kind of know what to expect and have streamlined some of the processes we weren't sure of the first year," UJ Sports Information Director Ryan Mikkelson said. "It's a pretty big event but we have a lot of people working together to pull it off and I think we've gotten pretty good at it the last couple of years."

UJ event coordinators are hoping the invite's third year in existence will run a tad smoother than the past two years.

"In 2019 we had a snowstorm two or three days before the event and we got three and a half feet of snow," UJ Director of Athletics Sean Johnson said. "We had teams that were stranded and scrambling like the University of Atlanta. They spent two days in the Denver airport and then ended up taking planes, trains and automobiles almost to get here."

One year later the invite got canned 20 hours prior to the first match due to COVID-19.

This year, teams are slated to fly into Jamestown and surrounding areas on Wednesday and will be greeted by a slew of local Jamestown businesses. Mikkelson said the host businesses will make sure teams arrive at their lodging areas promptly, show teams around the community and give eating recommendations. Businesses will also advise teams on activities to partake in when not competing. Johnson said there will be four hotels completely booked for the tournament.

"We want to be the permanent home for NAIA women's wrestling," Johnson said. "It sounds corny and it's cliche' but it's definitely a team effort. It's a lot of different people coming together making sure that it happens. It helps hotels, it helps retail businesses, it makes a great economic impact on the city of Jamestown and brings attention to our community."

While Jamestown residents may see teams out and about, not everyone will have an opportunity to watch the competition in person.

Fortunately, after organizing the event three times, Mikkelson and his group of volunteers have developed a streamlined process for broadcasting matches and getting up-to-date results online and to host schools.

UJ has had to coordinate with a production company that will update brackets and detail upcoming matches automatically as the event is running. Mikkelson said he has also been in communication with Flo Sports Broadcasting, the company that oversees the live streaming. The tournament championships will be streamed by BEK TV and the entire event will be available to watch online at FloWrestling.com.

"We will have people running stat computers on each of the mats that will keep track of the results," Mikkelson said. "What we'll do at the end of each session is make a PDF of each of the brackets and the results and organize those so people can see how they are advancing on the championship side versus the consolation side."

Day 1 results will come out at the end of the day Friday. Teams normally wrestle up to the semifinal matches.

"It kind of sets the stage for Championship Saturday," Mikkelson said. "We'll get underway with the semifinal matches and then the finals later on that evening which is a pretty exciting time."

After the championship matches have been wrestled tournament workers will tally up the team results to determine the team champion. The individual results will determine weight-class champions but also determine who earned All-American status and who has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

The team trials will be held at Dickies Arena in Ft. Worth Texas, April 2-3.

"I just appreciate the support we get from the community," Johnson said. "We couldn't do this as the University of Jamestown, we had to do this as the community of Jamestown. We've been able to do that because people have been willing to serve and help organize and run the event."

University of Jamestown Team Capsules

(Compiled by UJ Sports Information Director Ryan Mikkelson)

109: AnnMarie Hidalgo (Senior—El Monte, CA) 4-5 record…fourth at Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…finished second at 2021 KCAC Conference meet ... Rayana Sahagun (Freshman—Rockford, MI) 9-0 record, ranked #2 in NAIA…first place at both Grand View (Iowa) Open and Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…2021 KCAC Conference champion.

116: Josie Bartishofski (Sophomore—Weston, WI) 13-5 record, ranked #7 in NAIA…fourth at York (Neb.) Open…second at Grand View (Iowa) Open…third at Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…2021 KCAC Conference champion ... Arianna Marrufo (Junior—Dos Palos, CA) 14-5 record, ranked #7 NAIA at 123. Moving down to 116 for nationals…placed second at Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…2021 KCAC Conference champion at 123. Finished seventh at 123 at 2019 Invitational.

123: Marissa Burt (Freshman—Herman, NE) 0-0 record. Competing for first time in 2021. Samantha Weeks (Sophomore—Tacoma, WA) 10-7 record, ranked #12 in NAIA…third at Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…finished second at 2021 KCAC Conference meet.

130: Alexandra Baudhuin (Sophomore—Coppell, TX) 13-5 record, ranked #8 in NAIA…fourth at York (Neb.) Open…third at Grand View (Iowa) Open..second at Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…2021 KCAC Conference champion.

136: Luisita Jara (Freshman---Menifee, CA) 10-7 record, ranked #6 in NAIA…fourth at Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…2021 KCAC Conference champion ... Remy Vargas (Junior—Orlando, FL) 5-6 record. Finished fourth at 2021 KCAC Conference meet.

155: Joycelyn Katcheak (Sophomore—Stebbins, AK) 12-8 record, ranked #14 in NAIA. Finished third at 2021 KCAC Conference meet.

170: Sierra Talmadge (Junior—Bismarck, ND) 18-4 record, ranked #5 in NAIA. Finished seventh at 155 pounds at 2019 Invitational…fourth at York (Neb.) Open…third at Grand View (Iowa) Open…third at Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…2021 KCAC Conference champion.

191: Kelly La Cost (Freshman—Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) 14-5 record, ranked #7 in NAIA…third at York (Neb.) Open..second at Midland (Neb.) Warrior Open…2021 KCAC Conference champion.