Patriots Shining Moments

Wrestling

Five All-American women’s wrestlers made the podium at the NAIA Championships: Bridgette Duty, ’21, who won the National Champion title for the 130-weight class; Chamira Cooper, ’23, who placed fifth in the 170-weight class; MaQuoia Bernabe, ’24, who placed fifth in the 191-weight class; Ashley Inker, ’21, who placed seventh in the 143-weight class; and Angenlina Castaneda, ’24, for whom the NAIA Championship was her first tournament of the season, who placed eighth in the 101-weight class. The team received the Sportsmanship Award over the other 30 teams at the Championship, as voted on by the coaches. A trio of All-Americans on the men’s wrestling team made the podium at the NAIA Championship: Aaron Johnson, ’22, placed third in the heavyweight class; Bryce Nickel, ’23, who placed seventh in the 141-weight class; and Gage Hudson, ’24, who placed eighth in the 125-weight class.

Bridgette Duty, ’21, was named the Mid-South Conference Wrestler of the Year and claimed the title NAIA Women’s Wrestling Champion. She is the first NAIA champion in program history. The victory earned her First Team All-American status. Bridgette wrestled the 136-weight class in season, the 130-weight class in the NAIA Championship. Her opponent in the final match was a familiar foe, Agela Vitiritti from Campbellsville University. Using patience and her signature leg laces, Bridgette won the match 12-2. Her record on the season was 28 – 1, and the NAIA Champion title qualified her for Olympic Trials.

Tennis

Both tennis teams, coached by Dr. Chin Tan, had a stellar season. The women’s team were Mid-South Conference champions, and the men took home second. The women kept a perfect 10-0 record for conference play while the men posted a 9-1 record. Standout players this year were Tomomi Nagao, ’22, and Laura Marie, ’24, on the women’s team and Martin Barbier, ’22, and Martin Mueller, ’24, on the men’s team.

Softball

The softball team wrapped up their regular season with a 40-14 record overall, 21-9 in the Mid-South Conference. They finished fourth in the NAIA and were second in the conference to hit 40 wins on the season. Pitcher Talli Burgess, ’24, went 13-2 on the year, a team high for victories this year, and her five saves in the season is a program best, ranking first in the MSC and third in the NAIA.

Soccer

Both men’s and women’s soccer made history this year. The women won the conference championship for the first time in program history, and the men’s team claimed the championship title for the first time since 1996. Both teams thus advanced to the NAIA quarterfinals. Standout players this season were Shara Randez, ’21, and Laura Navajas, ’22, for the women and Sergio Castell, ’21, and Akililu Zambataro, ’23, for the men.

Regular Season Mid-South Conference Champions

-ARCHERY- BASEBALL - DANCE - MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING - WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY - WOMEN'S GOLF - WOMEN'S LACROSSE - WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING -WOMEN'S TENNIS

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