Buena Vista, VA - Led by 131 lb. champion Caitlyn Ash and four other medalists, the Women's Wrestling team finished in 3rd place at the Southern Virginia University Invitational on Saturday. The five place-winners is a new program high-water mark.

Ash was utterly dominant on her run to the title, with no match going the distance. She put together three pins and a technical fall to go 4-0 on the day. This was the first championship of her collegiate career.

Hannah Catungal, Ibtasam "Sami" Saleh, and Kylie McClain all finished as runner-up in their respective weight classes. Saleh powered her way to the championship match on the strength on her single leg takedown which she converted into additional scoring opportunities with adept mat wrestling, scoring a par of technical falls. Catungal had a technical fall and a pin in just over a minute to become the third finalist of the day for the Big Blue. Kylie McClain rounds out the finalists, continuing to build on a string season of performances making the finals at 207.

The final place-winner was first-year wrestler Paige Altizer who continues her transition from basketball player to wrestler with the toughness and grit she's known for. Highlighting her performance was a fall she scored in under 90 seconds.

Coach Gardner's thoughts: "I was proud of the ladies' performances today. This was a great moment in our team's young history. We are looking to grow and improve from week to week and event to event, and we are doing that. They were aggressive, tough, and attacked frequently. That's what I like to see. Caitlyn's performance was outstanding. She was dominant, especially from the top position, where she really cranked hard with her power half. We'll be back at work tomorrow, looking to build on this momentum and improve."