Jackson Gerber, Sports Editor

First-year phenom Emily Shilson won her second national championship of the season as the Augsburg women’s wrestling team concluded their impressive inaugural season, finishing ninth at the Cliff Keen/National Wrestling Coaches Association National Collegiate Championships. 

Shilson continued her dominant run as she recorded two technical falls to reach the semi final match. Shilson was even more impressive on the second day of competition as she recorded two first-period pins, including a 43-second pin in the championship match to secure her second national championship of the year at 109 pounds. She finished her incredible season 14-0 and recorded six pins and six technical falls.

Three other Auggie wrestlers finished their seasons as All-Americans. Gabby Skidmore fell to the eventual 130-pound national champion in the semi final, and wasn’t able to recover in the fifth place match, finishing in the sixth place. She finishes the season with a 14-6 record with five pins and three technical falls.  Vayle-Rae Baker also finished in sixth place, winning her way into the semi-final match but falling in back-to-back back matches to conclude her season with an 18-5 record along with six pins and seven technical falls. Marlynne Deede took the same path as Baker, winning her first match on Saturday but losing the next two to finish sixth. She recorded four pins and five technical falls on her way to an 11-11 season.

The future is bright for the Auggie women’s wrestling program. With a solid core of young wrestlers, recruiting will be vital to continuing to build off of the groundwork that was laid down by the first women’s wrestling team in Augsburg history.