Three Wildcats Earn All-American Honors, Team Finishes 11th at NAIA Championships

JAMESTOWN, N.D. - Baker women's wrestling came away with three top-eight finishes at the national tournament with Katherine Heath (116), Jannell Avila (191) and Elisa Robinson (191) all earning All-American honors at the 2024 NAIA Women's Wrestling National Championships this past weekend in Jamestown, N.D.

The Wildcats finished 11th in the team standings after totaling 45.5 points at the two-day tournament, improving on their 16th-place finish from last year and finishing ahead of conference schools Missouri Valley (26th) and Central Methodist (28th).

Heath took home third place in the 116-pound bracket to give the senior from Fairview, Texas her first All-American finish in her fourth appearance at the NAIA Championships. She won her first two matches on Friday to advance to Saturday's semifinal bout where she lost to the top seed in the bracket. Heath earned pins in her final two matches, including a takedown in the third-place match.

Boasting a pair of All-American wrestlers at 191 pounds, the Wildcats had Avila and Robinson finish in back-to-back spots with Avila placing seventh and Robinson following right behind in eighth. Avila won three of her matches in Jamestown, including an all-BU placement match that featured Avila and Robinson going up against each other. It was the third top-eight finish for Robinson who took runner-up honors in 2021 and added a seventh-place finish in 2022.

As the other two national qualifiers for BU, Jaclyn Daley and Kylee Slyter each came away with a pair of wins in the NAIA competition. Daley won her first match of the tournament on a 9-3 decision before following up with a 5-3 decision to stay alive in the consolation bracket at 170 pounds. At 109 pounds, Slyter won consecutive matches before bowing out in the consolation fourth round of Friday's evening session.

The Wildcats wrap up a 2023-24 campaign under first-year head coach Kit Harris that saw them finish fourth at the Heart of America Conference Championships and boast four all-conference finishers, including Heath's league title at 116 pounds.

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