Buena Vista, VA- Junior Caitlynn Ash (St. Alban's, WV) made the finals of the Southern Virginia Invitational at 124 lbs. on Saturday, the highest place winner among the Big Blue of Bluefield State. Ash used a pair of first period falls to make the finals. In the championship match Ash took the lead with a trip but was subsequently rolled through to her back where she succumbed to the fall.

Charniece McClarence finished in fourth place at 145 lbs. After losing to an eventual finalist, McClaernce strung together three victories, all of them match terminations. She scored a technical fall in her first wrestleback and followed that up with a pair of pins before falling in the final match for 3rd place.

Maria Gonzalez finished in 5th place for the second week in a row on the strength of a pair of victories, including a technical fall. Paige Altizer scored a fall in her wrestle back victory to finish in 5th place .

Coach Gardner's thoughts:

"The ladies fought hard today. Almost all of them won at least one match. Caitlynn was involved in a high scoring barn-burner in her final. She was aggressive, maybe too aggressive, and when she tossed her opponent to her back her momentum allowed her opponent to roll her through. She's smart and tough and she'll learn from that match."

"Our other 3 place winners were scrappy. Charneice continues to hone her upper body skills. She's super strong and has the killer instinct we like. Maria and Paige are continuing to develop their skills. They've improved leaps and bounds since the start of pre-season training. We've still got a ton of work to do, but the kids are positive and a pleasure to be around. We're having fun."