The Wildcats traveled downstate Saturday for the NCWWC Qualifier, where they finished the evening third out of eight teams. Alissa Caltagirone, Kailyn Garrett and Yu Sakamoto secured their positions in the National Championship. Sakamoto was victorious, continuing to display her dominance and achieving the regional title as she sets her sights on the grand prize of the national title.
The Cats spread their success throughout the competition, with three of the green and gold representatives advancing to the finals and five others placing in the top six. NMU finished third in the competition, with a final team score of 83.5 points. North Central won the competition, just barely edging out Grand Valley with a score of 173.0 to 171.5.
Caltagirone, ranked No. 13 in the 138-pound class, would battle for a well-deserved bronze medal. She collected a total of four victories on the day, including one that came down to the wire by decision (8-2) in the third-place match. She won by fall (0:22) in the first round, then secured a 5-1 decision in the quarterfinals, followed by a tech fall (12-0, 2:41) that advanced her to the championship round.
Garrett followed in Caltagirone’s footsteps, earning a fourth-place finish in the 207-pound class with three total victories. She received a bye and then claimed victory by fall (2:25) in the quarterfinals. She was eliminated in the semifinals by fall.
Sakamoto entered the competition ranked No. 10 nationally in the 117-pound class, according to The Open Mat. The U23 World Championship winner from Japan kicked off her performance with a dominant tech fall victory (10-0 in 1:05), advancing her to the semifinals. There, she continued her momentum, picking up another 10-0 tech fall win in 1:57, and just like that, her spot in the championship was secured.
The final bout pitted Sakamoto against North Central College’s Sydney Petzinger, who amassed a 26-2 record last season. Sakamoto got off to a slow start, trailing 1-0 after the first round. However, she shifted into high gear, earning an impressive pair of points within the first minute before securing the pin to claim first place with a win by fall at 3:47. This marks Sakamoto as the second regional champion in the program’s four-year history.
Sakamoto, Caltagirone and Garrett now set their sights on the National Championships in Coralville, Iowa, on March 7.
