REDDING, Calif. – The Hope International women's wrestling team made its 2026-27 season debut on Saturday at the Simpson Open, posting four first place finishes and a pair of runner-ups.
Making their Royal debuts, freshmen Alyssa Prado and Mary Jane O'Neil, along with sophomore Jeszika Spraglin and junior Mattrina Ifopo-Aisea, went undefeated in their respective brackets.
The biggest win for any HIU wrestler came from freshman Mackenzie Matthews. She toppled the defending NJCAA national champion, Kailey Salazar of Umpqua Community College, by a 7-4 decision.
Here is a rundown of how each HIU wrestler fared against competitors from Menlo's club team, Sacramento State, Simpson, Sierra College, Umpqua CC and Westcliff.
The Royals are next in action on Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Menlo Open.
WOMEN'S WRESTLING (SIMPSON OPEN)
102-109 – Alyssa Prado (1st)
Posted a successful 3-0 run through her bracket, starting with a 7-3 decision over Westcliff's Alyaah Bravo. She proceeded to knock off Menlo's Lina Perez, 12-2 by tech fall, and pinned Umpqua CC's Marla Siquina Can at the 1:20 mark.
109-116 – Mackenzie Matthews (2nd)
Highlighted her performance with a 7-4 win by decision over Umpqua CC's Kailey Salazar, who was the NJCAA national champion last year. Matthews also won her opening match against Sierra College's Roxanne Laxamana, taking her down by pin at 1:04. Matthews had one setback, a loss by pin at 2:15 by Westcliff's Vanessa Alvarado.
115-119 – Mary Jane O'Neil (1st)
Dominated her bracket with four straight wins by pin. In succession, she defeated Sacramento State's Pri Tandel (1:05), Sierra College's Jasmine Luna (0:55), Umpqua CC's Elena Flores (2:04) and Menlo's Maya Barrios (0:52).
136-141 – Annabelle Reed (2nd)
Finished 2-1 in her bracket. Started out with a win by fall at 2:13 against Sierra College's Elisa Glenn. She suffered a setback in match two against Simpson's Rossy Parra, losing by pin at 0:22. Reed rebounded in her third match, dispatching Menlo's Luciana Rodriguez by pin at the 0:23 mark.
137-144 – Mattrina Ifopo-Aisea (1st)
Took first place in her bracket with a 3-0 record. Defeated Shamara Ramsey of Menlo by decision in a 13-8 battle in the first match. She then made quick work of Umpqua CC's Elsa King, pinning her at the 0:42 mark. She won in an even faster time in her third match, downing Sierra College's Savannah Edwards by pin in just 26 seconds.
138-146 – Kate Van Coutren (Did Not Place)
Lost all three matches by fall to Sierra College's Maddie Blackstone (3:20) and Bianca Nucamendi (1:23), as well as Menlo's Megan Dean (1:29).
158-163 – Jovel Blaine (4th)
Dropped three matches, losing by fall at 0:59 to Aiyanna Beane of Umpqua CC. She then faced Menlo's Noemi Revuelta and lost 10-0 by tech fall (2:37) before taking on Sierra College's Zoey DeVaughn and losing by fall at 1:07.
204-235 – Jeszika Spraglin (1st)
Defeated two wrestlers from Sierra College – Elisha Boyd by fall at 4:56 and Izzie Miranda by fall at 1:26 to take first place in her bracket.
