BRISTOL, Tenn. – With the backdrop of the 2022-23 calendar's most important event behind them, the Presbyterian College women's wrestling team delivered an expected result at the NCWWC Southeast Regionals on Saturday afternoon, officially qualifying six competitors for the upcoming National Championship brackets in Iowa two weeks from now.

Needing a minimum of a 4^th-place finish for your respective weight class in order to continue your season and advance to the campaign's greatest stage in Coralville, interim head coach Brian Vutianitis' squad brought nearly every one of their entries to that point in Bristol, seizing runner-up placements by Sierra Marie Miller (130) and Samantha Miller (101), alongside three bronze standings and an additional top-four nod in the 155-lb. group.

Hosted by King University – the second-ranked school in NWCA – the Blue Hose (just five spots below the Tornado in the national rankings at #7) locked horns with their regional adversary in seven different bouts on Saturday as both sides sent numerous grapplers onto the next round at nationals. Altogether, PC posted 15 victories to reach a grand total of 180 for the year, sending that group of six to the national spotlight with 39 top-four placements behind them.
 
NOTABLES
- Skipping to the 130-lb. title round with back-to-back pins over Emory & Henry and Emmanuel adversaries in just two minutes and seven seconds put together, Sierra Marie Miller's 2^nd-place accomplishment confirms the sophomore's second straight finish at either gold or silver, the team leader in victories by fall (18) behind 28 W's overall.

- A four-point triumph via decision over King representative Avery Kibelbek brought Samantha Miller to her second-place landing in the 101-lb. bracket, the sixth time in 2023 that the junior has ended a multi-team event with either the top prize in hand or the runner-up designation that comes with advancing to the title scuffle. That 10-6 win in the first bout grants the West Virginia native her 27^th hand-raiser in the past three and a half months.

- Recently recognized for her four-year contributions to the program as a vital senior to this roster, 109-pounder Cassandra Lopez bounced back from a technical fall defeat in her first go-around with a pin in two matches in a row, the second of which came in exactly four minutes against Emmanuel's Dinayah Vazquez for her fifth tournament effort of at least third place.

- Catherine "CG" Bertrand and Paige Wehrmeister mirrored each other's routes to a 3^rd-place finish in the 123 and 136 classes respectively, going 8-2 between them on four pins and four TF's. The most recent of PC's five 20-win gatherers this year, Bertrand has claimed over 80% of her 24 wins by either tech or fall, while Wehrmeister cruised to another notable high in her outstanding debut season, grasping three technical's by an added clip of 32-1 before a two-minute pin to end at 3^rd. The rookie now sits at 34-4 since November (a win percentage of 89%).

- The final Blue Hose member to make the jump to nationals in early March, Isabella Badon (155) went an even .500 at 2-2 in Bristol beside a 62-second pin and 12-7 decision versus Mount Olive and Ferrum opponents for the 4^th-place gain.
 
RESULTS
 
101 – Samantha Miller (1-1), 2^nd Place
Samantha Miller (PC) def. Avery Kibelbek (King) by Dec., 10-6
Jessica Corredor (King) def. Samantha Miller (PC) by Inj.
 
109 – Cassandra Lopez (2-1), 3^rd Place
Dianna Holmes (King) def. Cassandra Lopez (PC) by TF, 14-4
Cassandra Lopez (PC) def. Onnalaya Aguilera (Limestone) by Fall, 1:39
Cassandra Lopez (PC) def. Dinayah Vazquez (Emmanuel) by Fall, 4:00
 
123 – Catherine "CG" Bertrand (4-1), 3^rd Place
Catherine "CG" Bertrand (PC) def. Annika Lindberg (Emmanuel) by TF, 10-0
Catherine "CG" Bertrand (PC) def. Alyssa Garza (Limestone) by Fall, 1:04
Melanie Mendoza (King) def. Catherine "CG" Bertrand (PC) by Dec., 5-0
Catherine "CG" Bertrand (PC) def. Evelyn Vazquez (Emmanuel) by Fall, 0:29
Catherine "CG" Bertrand (PC) def. Isabel Rodriguez (Mount Olive) by Fall, 2:18
 
123 – Olivia Waller (0-3)
Melanie Mendoza (King) def. Olivia Waller (PC) by Fall, 0:30
Alyssa Garza (Limestone) def. Olivia Waller (PC) by Dec., 9-6
Caroline Schmitt (Limestone) def. Olivia Waller (PC) by TF, 10-0
 
130 – Sierra Marie Miller (2-1), 2^nd Place
Sierra Marie Miller (PC) def. Dafne Aguilar Martinez (Emory & Henry) by Fall, 1:02
Sierra Marie Miller (PC) def. Samantha Larios (Emmanuel) by Fall, 1:05
Montana Delawder (King) def. Sierra Marie Miller (PC) by Fall, 1:05
 
136 – Paige Wehrmeister (4-1), 3^rd Place
Paige Wehrmeister (PC) def. Madeline Quiroga (Emory & Henry) by TF, 10-0
Paige Wehrmeister (PC) def. Lauren Ellis (Emmanuel) by TF, 10-0
Viktorya Torres (King) def. Paige Wehrmeister (PC) by Dec., 4-3
Paige Wehrmeister (PC) def. Madeline Quiroga (Emory & Henry) by TF, 12-1
Paige Wehrmeister (PC) def. Gianna Anaya (Emmanuel) by Fall, 2:04
 
155 – Isabella Badon (2-2), 4^th Place
Isabella Badon (PC) def. Isabella Kessey (Mount Olive) by Fall, 1:02
Tiffani Baublitz (King) def. Isabella Badon (PC) by Fall, 1:53
Isabella Badon (PC) def. Jordan Wilson (Ferrum) by Dec., 12-7
Amalani Latu (Limestone) def. Isabella Badon (PC) by Dec., 6-1
 
UP NEXT
- Well-represented at the upcoming National Championships on March 3 and 4, the Blue Hose will celebrate their immense level of success over the weekend and everything attained prior to this point before regaining focus in two weeks for the last tourney of the calendar.

- Coach Vutianitis and co. will enter the loaded brackets with two extra competitors when comparing the 2022 list, where the Blue Hose were able to manage seven total wins one year back.