Basaldua Places Seventh as GU Closes Inaugural Season at Heart Championships

OSKALOOSA, Iowa — The Graceland University women's wrestling team concluded its inaugural season Saturday at the 2026 Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by William Penn University. The Yellowjackets finished 10th overall with 8.5 team points, highlighted by a seventh-place finish at 138 pounds.

Graceland was represented by Amaris Rivera (117 pounds), Elsyah Hernandez (131) and Ilee Basaldua (138) in the championship brackets.

At 117 pounds, Rivera opened the tournament against Mayangelie Colon of Grand View, dropping the match by technical fall at :31. Rivera moved to the consolation bracket, where she received a bye before facing Sarah Pineda of Missouri Valley. Pineda secured a fall at 2:13, ending Rivera's tournament run.

In the 131-pound division, Hernandez drew Jerzie Estrada of Missouri Valley in the opening round. Estrada recorded a fall at :35 to advance. Hernandez then faced Audrey Darnell of Baker in the consolation bracket, where Darnell secured a fall at :57, concluding Hernandez-Jimenez's day.

Basaldua competed at 138 pounds, opening against Zoe Fries of Missouri Baptist, who recorded a fall at 4:23. After receiving a bye in the opening round of consolations, Basaldua earned Graceland's lone victory of the championship, defeating Emily Neumann of Central Methodist by fall at 5:23.

Basaldua then faced Leighanna Patz of Baker, dropping the match by fall at 4:19. In the seventh-place bout, Basaldua secured a technical fall (3:28) over Kaytlin McAnelly of Dickson State, earning seventh place at 138 pounds and accounting for the majority of Graceland's team points.

Head coach Evan Hansen reflected on the conclusion of the program's first season.

"This championship capped our inaugural year of women's wrestling at Graceland," Hansen said. "Ilee's placement and the mat time gained by Amaris and Elysah in a competitive conference field are important steps for our program. Our staff is committed to continued development, expanding our roster and building Graceland women's wrestling into a national-level program."

Saturday's event marked the final competition of the 2025-26 season for the Yellowjackets. In its first year of varsity competition, Graceland established foundational standards in training, recruitment and conference participation, competing throughout the Heart against established NAIA programs.

The Yellowjackets will transition into offseason training and recruiting efforts in preparation for the 2026-27 campaign. Graceland is scheduled to open next season in November at the Grand View Open in Des Moines, Iowa, with competition set to begin at 9 a.m. at the Charles S. Johnson Wellness Center.

For more information on Graceland women's wrestling and all of Graceland athletics, visit GUjackets.com.