Contact: Matthew Eaker, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, mreaker@noctrl.edu 

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (May 2, 2022) - The North Central College wrestling programs sent four wrestlers to Las Vegas, Nev. to compete in the 2022 USMC U.S. Open where Yelena Makoyed, Amanda Martinez and Joseph Jens all placed in their respective weight classes. 

Jens, a Freshman from Grayslake, Ill. competed in the U20 Greco-Roman tournament and took home seventh place. Jen's opened up the tournament with a 8-0 win over DeMario Gonzales before falling to Michael Altomer in the second round putting him in the consolation bracket. He would take on Joshua Palacio in the consolation second round and would defeat Palacio 10-0 to move on to the fourth round. Jens would fall 6-2 in a close match against Julian Kennedy putting him in the seventh place match against Ryan Boucher. Jens would defeat Boucher 7-0 in the seventh place match, he is the first Cardinal to place at this event. 

Jens also competed in the U20 Freestyle tournament this weekend at 79 kg. In the first round, he fell to Matthew Singleton before defeating Trayveon Van-Dyck by a 10-0 technical fall in the consolation bracket. He would take on Cannon Potts in the consolation second round and would defeat him by an 8-2 decision before taking down Desi Lobos by a 10-0 technical fall. In the consolation round of 16, Jens would defeat Tate Naaktgeboren by a decision before defeating Drew Clearie by a 10-0 technical fall putting him in the round of eight against Aaron Ayzerov. Jens would fall in the consolation round of eight, falling just short of All-American honors.

Makoyed, a Junior from Orangavale, Calif. was the No. 2 seed in 76 kg and received a bye in the first round of the Senior Women Freestyle tournament and would face-off against NAIA National Champion, Jordan Nelson in the second round. She would pin Nelson before falling to Dymond Guilford in the semifinals match. Makoyed would take Emily Cue in the consolation semifinals and would defeat Cue by a 12-2 technical fall, putting her into the third place match against Victoria Francis. Makoyed would defeat Francis in a 12-0 technical fall, taking home third place. 

Martinez, a Graduate Assistant from Riverside, Ill. was the No. 1 seed in 57 kg and would receive a bye in the first round before facing Alisha Narvaez in the second round. Martinez would defeat Narvaez by a 10-0 technical fall, pushing her into the semifinals against Adriana Dorado Marin. She would fall to Marin by an 8-5 decision putting her into the third place match where she would fall to Alexandra Hedrick, giving her a fourth place finish. 

Grant Zamin, a Graduate Assistant from Gurnee, Ill. was unseeded in a stacked 70 kg division. He started off the tournament with a 10-0 technical fall of Tyler Soltau before falling to Elroy Perkin in the second round, putting him in the consolation side of the bracket. Zamin would take on Matthew Ryan and would defeat Ryan by an 11-1 technical fall, putting him in the consolation round of 16 against Dayne Morton. Zamin would fall to Morton by a 6-4 decision, ending his tournament. 

The North Central College wrestling program will travel to Fort Worth, TX. this weekend to compete in the USA Wrestling Junior and U23 World Team Trials. 12 women will compete in the Junior division while five women will compete in the U23 division this weekend at the Will Rogers Memorial Center.

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