Earl Marriott Secondary alum Karla Godinez-Gonzalez won her second-ever national collegiate wrestling title on the weekend – helping lead Simon Fraser University to a third overall finish.
The SFU senior – who was fresh from winning a regional title last month in Pennsylvania – placed first in the women’s 116-pound weight class at National College Women’s Wrestling Coalition National Championships Saturday in Adrian, Mich.
Godinez-Gonzalez won her final match by decision over McKendree University’s Felicity Taylor. The matchup was a showdown between the last two national championships – Godinez-Gonzalez won a national title in the 116-pound division in 2020, and Taylor won it last year. Last year, however, SFU did not compete at nationals due to border restrictions and COVID-19 protocols.
SFU competes in the U.S.-based NCAA Div. 2 – the only Canadian school to do so; other Canadian universities compete in Canada-based U Sports.
In semifinals, Godinez-Gonzalez defeated King University’s Sage Mortimer – again by decision – and in quarter-finals, won by technical fall over Ainslie Lane of Presbyterian College (South Carolina). Godinez-Gonzalez received a first-round bye and in the second round, defeated Emalie Olson of William Jewell by technical fall.
This takedown by Karla Godinez Gonzalez of Simon Fraser paced her to a 6-2 win and a spot in the 116-pound finals at the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships (NCAA programs). pic.twitter.com/3wVzKnslBo
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) March 5, 2022
In all, Godinez-Gonzalez’s performances earned her 23 team points for SFU, which finished third overall. Two other SFU wrestlers, Alex Hedrick and Alyvia Fiske – both seniors – also won national titles in their respective weight classes.
According to an SFU news release, Godinez-Gonzalez moved down in weight for regionals and nationals after spending most of the university wrestling season competing in a higher weight class.
Godinez-Gonzalez is the second in her family to find wrestling success at SFU. Her older sister, Ana, also competed at the collegiate level – both at SFU and also the University of the Fraser Valley. Last November, Ana – who, like Karla is an Earl Marriott grad – won a gold medal at U23 World Wrestling Championships after more than a year away from competitive wrestling as a result of the pandemic.
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