North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan women's wrestling team began its season at the Pointer Open in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on Saturday. The Wildcats competed against 13 other schools and finished with a 16-16 record in matches, accumulating 29 team points.

Abbie Miles made her debut for Northern Michigan and won the championship in the 180-pound weight class. As the top seed, she received a bye into the semifinals and secured a win by fall in 1:47. In the final match, she claimed victory with another fall in just 48 seconds, earning 10 points for her team.

At 145 pounds, Alissa Caltagirone finished second with a 2-1 record. She achieved pins in both the quarterfinals (1:30) and semifinals (2:25), before losing by decision in the championship round. Her performance contributed seven points to Northern Michigan's total.

Mickaela Keane took third place at 180 pounds with a 3-1 record. She started with a technical fall win in 3:49, lost her next bout, then recovered with a 7-2 decision and closed out with another decision victory at 7-1 to add four points for the Wildcats.

Clarissa Wangen also competed at 180 pounds and placed fifth after going 2-2. Wangen began her day with a technical fall in just 43 seconds, lost two consecutive matches, but finished strong with another tech fall in 1:49. She contributed six points to Northern Michigan's score.

Sophia Bassino earned fourth place at 160 pounds after posting a 3-2 record. She started off with two wins but was defeated before coming back to secure another fall and advance to the third-place match, where she narrowly lost by an 8-6 decision.

Other notable performances included Jamie Cook (124 pounds), who went 2-2 on the day with two wins by fall; Keaton Hood (138) and Samantha Chaon (138), who each picked up victories via fall; as well as Zhivanna Magdaleno (124) and Alyssa Keane (138), who also represented Northern Michigan during the meet.

The Wildcats are scheduled to compete next weekend at the Adrian Open in Adrian, Michigan.