CLINTON, S.C. — Presbyterian College’s women’s wrestling program, ranked third in the country, will open its home gym in Clinton to 16 teams on Sunday, Nov. 15, for the third edition of the Blue Hose Challenge.
Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. inside Templeton Gymnasium on the campus of the college, which was founded in 1880. The title bouts should go off sometime between 4 and 5 p.m. Spectators pay $10 at the door, and that one ticket covers the full day. Breakfast and lunch will be sold in the gym lobby.
The field brings in programs from across the Southeast. Among the visitors are No. 10 Emmanuel and Life University, which sits second in the NAIA poll.
Presbyterian has owned its own tournament so far. At the first Blue Hose Challenge in 2024, PC wrestlers claimed eight individual crowns, a school record. Six wrestlers on the current roster have won at least one title at the event, among them junior Maria Aiono, who has taken gold in the 207-pound class each of the past two years. Kaylie Hall won the 160-pound bracket last season.
The Blue Hose come in at 1-2 in duals but have already collected seven individual championships at tournaments in Princeton and Mount Olive. Last weekend they knocked off No. 24 Delaware State 33-12 during an event staged on the deck of the aircraft carrier Yorktown in Charleston, closing that dual on a 29-2 run. That came a day after PC dropped duals to No. 7 Grand Valley State and No. 2 Iowa.
Sophomore Zoe Griffith has been the story of the young season. The 138-pounder is 7-0 with six pins and climbed to No. 2 nationally after an upset of the second-ranked wrestler in her class. In all, nine Presbyterian wrestlers hold spots in the latest national rankings.
Head coach Brian Vutianitis, a two-time region coach of the year, took 19 wrestlers to this event a year ago, and that group combined for 47 wins.
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