Statesmen Dominate in Dual Season Opener

Oskaloosa--The No. 5 ranked William Penn women wrestling team dominated its first dual of the 2025-2026 season Wednesday, beating Baker 33-9 in Heart of America Athletic Conference dual meet action. 

WPU (1-0, 1-0 Heart) jumped ahead 5-0 against the Wildcats (0-1, 0-1 Heart) as 103-pounder Lily Zapata (So., Lewisville, Texas, Sociology) picked up the only fall for the Statesmen in 1:09 against Brook Stevens.

Avy Perez (Fr., Mission Hills, Calif., Nursing) earned a forfeit at 110 pounds, but the Wildcats answered with a win at 117 pounds. 

The dual would get busted wide open with five consecutive William Penn technical falls coming from 124-pounder Victoria Baez Dilone (Grad., Madrid, Spain), 131-pounder Devin Patton (Sr., Plano, Texas, Business Management), 138-pounder Isabelle Hawley (Sr., Winchester, Calif., Sociology), 145-pounder Esther Kolawole (So., Akure, Nigeria, Kinesiology), and 160-pounder Joey Ives (Fr., Bellevue, Wash., Undecided).

The run clinched the match for the Statesmen as they pushed the score to 30-9.

BU was victorious at 180 pounds, but the navy and gold had the last comment on the night. In the only bout to go the full six minutes, Phoebe Burt (Sr., Coralville, Iowa, Sociology) defeated Madeleine Stone 5-0 in a 207-pound bout. 

"Tonight was an awesome night for some really great wrestling," Head Coach Jake Kadel said. "It's super exciting to see our ladies doing the things in their matches that we've been working on." 

"I think this past weekend really helped prepare our athletes and get them excited for their first home event," Kadel added. "Baker has a pretty young and scrappy team, but we did a great job of putting points on the board tonight, so we're super proud of them for that."

Up Next: The Statesmen compete at the Missouri Valley Open on November 21-22 at 9 a.m. 

103--Lily Zapata (W) won by fall over Brook Stevens, 1:09 (5-0)
110--Avy Perez (W) won by forfeit (10-0)
117--Kylie Robledo (B) won by technical fall over Kylie Bustos, 10-0 (10-4)
124--Victoria Baez Dilone (W) won by technical fall over Chloe Herrick, 10-0 (14-4)
131--Devin Patton (W) won by technical fall over Gabi Koppes, 10-0 (18-4)
138--Isabelle Hawley (W) won by technical fall over Leighanna Patz, 10-0 (22-4)
145--Esther Kolawole (W) won by technical fall over Lucia Henriquez, 10-0 (26-4)
160--Joey Ives (W) won by technical fall over Elizabeth Cope, 10-0 (30-4)
180--Nevaeh Wardlow (B) won by fall over Faith Barrett, 4:37 (30-9)
207--Phoebe Burt (W) won by decision over Madeleine Stone, 5-0 (33-9)