IOWA CITY, Iowa – Trinity Barrus put Bethany College Women's Wrestling on the map at the National Tournament.
The Bison's win in the first round of wrestlebacks put Bethany College into 48th place. There are 96 women's wrestling programs among all Division I, Division II, and Division III schools, meaning Bethany College is officially in the top half of all programs in the NCAA.
While Bethany is the only DIII school in the beautiful state of West Virginia, Barrus's fall elevated Bethany to the top scoring school in West Virginia among all NCAA Divisions.
The true freshman had a tough pull in the bracket. Her first match was against a returning All-American from DI Sacred Heart. Barrus fell to last year's fifth place finisher in the first period.
The Bison bounced back in a big way in the first round of wrestlebacks. Barrus faced an opponent from the third place match of the Region IV qualifier. While the West Liberty athlete was getting the best of Barrus in Tiffin, Ohio, this match was a completely different story.
The Bison dominated from start to finish, throwing the Hilltopper to her back and securing a first period fall.
The Bethanian had another tough opponent next, facing the sixth ranked athlete in the NCAA at 160 pounds. Unfortunately, Barrus wasn't able to pull off an upset and exited the tournament.
It was a great season for Barrus. She finished with a record of 25-6, with every loss coming from a national qualifier and/or All-American (apart from one injury default where she was winning 8-0). The 160 pounder earned the program's first win, was the first tournament champion, and the first National Qualifier.
Barrus is planning to wrestle at the U20 US Open for a spot on the National Team. That qualifier will be held April 4-6 in Spokane, Washington. More information will be released closer to the event.
This article was written by Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Colin Herb. If you believe that there are mistakes in information-- or have a separate thought relating to the event in the article-- please email cherb@bethanywv.edu for any corrections/comments.
