Six Mountaineer Women Named NWCA Scholar All-Americans

By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Friday, April 29th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

LA GRANDE – (Release from EOU Athletics) The National Wrestling Coaches Association has announced its 2022 NAIA Women’s Scholar All-America Teams. Eastern Oregon University had six individuals garner Scholar All-American honors.

Bringing home individual honors for the Mountaineers were Anjelynn Baron (116 lbs.), Macy Higa (123 lbs.), Morgan Shines (143 lbs.), Nayeli Maston (143 lbs.), Dempsi Talkington (155 lbs.) and Tenley Swope (155 lbs.). With the six Scholar All-Americans for the 2021-22 season, EOU has now had nine total under head coach Carlene Sluberski.

All six wrestlers for the Mountaineers qualified for the NAIA National Invite this past season. Higa and Shines both placed in the top-eight at Nationals to garner All-America status. Higa was fourth at 123 pounds, while Shines was eighth at 143 pounds. Both grapplers were also CCC Champions at their respective weight classes this season.

The 2021-22 campaign was a historic one for the Mountaineers as they recorded their highest team finish at the NAIA National Invite, placing 10th with 757.5 points scored. Olivia Robinson highlighted the efforts at Nationals with a runner-up finish at 170 pounds. Also garnering All-American honors was Kaylee Moore at 130 pounds with an eighth place individual finish.

At the CCC Championships, the Mountaineer women finished fourth with 106 points scored. Six wrestlers earned All-CCC honors, including three champions. Winning an individual title along with Higa and Shines was Robinson who won the crown at 170 pounds. Earning a podium finish for EOU and garnering All-CCC selections was Moore at 130 pounds (2nd), Stephanie Blankenship at 109 pounds (3rd), and Maston at 143 pounds (3rd). Rounding out the placewinners was Talkington at 155 pounds (4th), Nayeli Flores Roque at 101 pounds (5th), and Krystal Fabricante at 136 pounds (6th).

The 2022-23 campaign for the Mountaineer women will be their first as an NAIA Championship sport. The NAIA Board of Governors approved earlier this spring to elevate women’s wrestling from Invite status to Championship status. With their elevation, all 15 sports at EOU are now championship level sports.