COLLEGE WRESTLING: Providence's Ivy Navarro still No. 1 grappler in Nation
Ivy Navarro retained her spot as the top-ranked wrestler of the 101 lb. weight class in the latest NAIA National Rankings that were released on Friday.
Navarro is one of six Argo wrestlers who are ranked in their respective weight classes. Ashley Gooman is ranked 4th in the 116 lb. weight class while Paige Respicio is ranked 5th in the 136 lb. weight class. Ira Navarro, Ivy's sister, is ranked 8th in the 101 lb. weight class. Lana Hunt is ranked 15th in the 109 lb. weight class while Sabrina Perez is ranked 19th in the 170 lb. weight class. As a team, the Argos remained ranked 14th in the nation.
"Looking through the individual rankings, I still think there are a lot of areas where we can move up," head coach Matt Atwood said. "I think we're still missing a couple of girls that can creep into the rankings which would move us up a little more."
Navarro has had a dominant start to the season, winning the Maverick Open in her season debut and the Battle of the Rockies Tournament that the team hosted on Friday. She lost her only match of the season in the final of the Missouri Valley Open to Olivia Shore of Tiffin, a NCAA Division II school. She has recorded a total of total of four pins of her eight total matches on the season.
"Ivy has been wrestling phenomenally," Atwood said. "She's been on and off the mat in 30 seconds nearly every time. The more big matches we can get her the better so we can get her prepared for Nationals."
Gooman, who was named the NAIA Wrestler of the Week two weeks ago, is ranked 4th in the 116 lb. weight class has also had a strong start to the season. She also has won both the Maverick Open and the Battle of the Rockies and finished 7th at the Missouri Valley Invite. She is 12-2 on the season so far and has notched a total of three pins.
"Ashley is another one who has had a dominant season," Atwood said. "She had a dominant performance yesterday. She has beaten a lot of top opponents so far on this year and is only getting better as the season goes on."
Respicio is also ranked in the top five for the Argos, coming in at #5 in the nation. She won her first tournament of the season yesterday after finishing 3rd at the Maverick Open and 6th at the Missouri Valley Invite. She is currently 8-4 on the year.
"Paige has wrestled a lot of the top wrestlers in her weight class and has shown that she can compete with all of them," Atwood said. "She is beating the right girls she just has to continue to dominate."
Ira comes in as #8 in the National Rankings. Like her sister, she ran through the Maverick Open and Battle of the Rockies, causing the duo to double forfeit twice in the championship matches of those tournaments. She is currently 4-2 on the season.
"Ira had a really good performance yesterday," Atwood said. "She's athletically dominant and responded really well yesterday. Looking at the girls ranked above her, I know Ira can beat them. Ira has the potential to be the #2 seed behind her sister."
Lana Hunt and Sabrina Perez round out the rankings for the squad. Hunt is ranked #15 in the 109 lb. division while Perez is ranked #19 in the 170 lb. division.
"Lana is dominant in the practice room and has demonstrated she can compete with the top wrestlers in the country," Atwood said. "We're working on translating that performance during the meets. That's something that we're continuing to work on. Athletically, there is nobody that is in as good as shape as her and there's nobody that is as strong as her. She's really gifted wrestling-wise."
The team will get a chance to improve upon their ranking Saturday evening, when the team competes in their dual of the season against top-ranked Southern Oregon.
"Our top girls need to continue to try and push the envelope," Atwood said. "We've lost a couple of girls to injuries who I think could help us. We're still getting into the swing of things and I expect us to continue to climb."
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Providence's Ivy Navarro still No. 1 grappler in Nation
