ERIE, PA. – The Elmira College women's wrestling program recorded a fifth-place finish on Sunday as the Soaring Eagles defeated nationally-ranked NJCU, 25-20 at the Inaugural Northeast Duals. EC also recorded a 39-0 victory against Alvernia, while dropping decisions against No. 10 Lock Haven and No. 15 Sacred Heart.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
LOCATION: Erie, Pennsylvania | Gannon Recreation and Wellness Center
SCORES: Elmira 39, Alvernia 0
                 Elmira 4, #15 Sacred Heart 44
                 Elmira 25, #15 NJCU 20
                 Elmira 10, #10 Lock Haven 35
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles opened their day with a match against Alvernia in Pool C round-robin action. Skylynn Tomlinson '26 would kick things off with a pin of Alvernia's Nevaeh Blevins in a time of 1:51. Following a forfeit by Alvernia at 109 pounds, Ariyanna Orosco '26 pinned her opponent in just 36 seconds to give Elmira a 15-0 lead.

Gabby Bradigan '26 would be the next to wrestle for the Purple & Gold at 143 pounds as she notched a pin at the 1:12 mark to give Elmira a 25-0 lead over Alvernia. Mariyah Casados '26 would be the final Soaring Eagle to have a contested bout in the match wrestling at 170 pounds. Casados recorded a 10-0 tech fall victory just under four minutes into the bout for Elmira.

Elmira would face nationally ranked Sacred Heart in the third round of Pool C competition with the winner guaranteeing at least a third-place finish overall in the team standings. The Soaring Eagles would be victorious in one of the six contested bouts against Sacred Heart as Bradigan notched a 14-3 tech fall victory over Julia Mullane. Sacred Heart would eventually go on to claim the first-place trophy after defeating Gannon 25-20.

In the fourth-sixth place bracket, the Soaring Eagles would be matched up against New Jersey City University. Elmira opened the match with a 10-0 advantage as Tomlinson recorded a pin wrestling at 101 pounds, while Kaitlyn Potter '26 won via forfeit at 109 pounds. NJCU responded with 15 consecutive points after wins at 116, 123, and 130 pounds.

Bradigan notched yet another pin for the Purple & Gold wrestling at 136 pounds to knot the score in the match at 15-15. A pair of forfeits by NJCU at 155 and 170 pounds would be the difference in the bout as EC would take a 25-15 lead. The final bout would see NJCU notch five points via a pin at 191 pounds to trim the score to 25-20.

Wrestling for the second time in a three-day span Elmira and Lock Haven would match up in the fourth-place contest. Elmira opened the match with a forfeit victory at 101 pounds to take a 5-0 lead over the Bald Eagles before Lock Haven notched five points in each of the next five bouts to jump ahead 25-5. Skylah Chakouian '25 would get Elmira back onto the scoreboard wrestling at 155 pounds. Chakouian notched a huge victory via fall at the 1:45 mark against Grace Stem after trailing 8-2 in the bout. Lock Haven closed the bout with a pair of victories via fall to secure fourth while Elmira notched fifth out of the nine teams competing on the day.

UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold return to action on Sunday as Elmira travels to Ursinus for a dual beginning at 1:00 P.M.