LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – New Jersey City University women's wrestling, ranked #9 in the nation in the most recent NCAA Women's Coaches Poll, put forth a strong performance at the 2024 NCWWC (National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championship) Region I Championships, which was hosted by #11 Lock Haven University. NJCU placed eighth as a team and collected a pair of individual titles at 116 pounds – #5-ranked junior Izabella Frezzo (East Rutherford, N.J./Becton Regional) – and 191 pounds – #4-ranked senior captain Sandy Guerrero (West Orange, N.J./West Orange). Both grapplers officially secured their third-career trips to NCWWC Nationals with their placements, which will be held at Alliant Energy Powerhouse Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday and Saturday, March 8-9.
 
Overall, five Gothic Knights competed on the day, with three of them earning points toward the team's overall score of 52.0. #7-ranked Sacred Heart University placed first overall at regionals. As mentioned, Frezzo placed first at 116, while Guerrero took top honors at 191. Also scoring was 130-pound junior Claire Daity (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield), who placed eighth in her weight class.
 
Starting with Frezzo, she entered the day as the #1 seed at 116 pounds, immediately squaring off with Adriana Dias of Cedar Crest College in the Round of 16 – she picked up the win by fall at 2:11 to advance to the quarterfinals. There, she took on Ariel Casella of Western New England University and took home the 11-0 technical fall, setting herself up for a major semifinal clash with #7-ranked Emily Klein of #18 East Stroudsburg University. That turned out to be Frezzo's only non-finish of the day, though she dominated to the tune of a 13-4 decision and advanced to the finals. Sacred Heart's Nohea Moniz was her opponent in the championship match, but Frezzo pinned her in less than a minute to claim her first-career regional crown. She went 4-0 on the day and enters Nationals in two weeks with a 24-2 overall record, including 11 wins by fall and seven technical falls.

Guerrero also garnered the top seed at 191, as well as a bye through the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals – her first match of the day – she took on Kali Shifflett of East Stroudsburg and wound up winning via a 10-0 technical fall to advance to the semifinals. Guerrero then squared off with a familiar foe in Jacklyn Smith of Sacred Heart, but once again came out on top with an 11-2 decision. The fourth-year Gothic Knight closed out her day with a 12-2 technical fall victory in the championship match, claiming her title over Madeline Hodges, also of Sacred Heart, for her first-career regional championship. A two-time All-American with eighth- and seventh-place finishes in 2021 and 2022, respectively, Guerrero heads into NCWWC Nationals with high expectations. She went 3-0 on the day and is tied with Frezzo for the team-high with 24 overall victories and just one loss heading into Iowa, including nine technical falls and five pins.

Daity started off with a tough loss in the Round of 16 to Gabby Bradigan of #21-ranked Elmira College. Moving over to the backside of the bracket, she first squared off Alaina Stanford of Cedar Crest and earned a dominant 13-3 technical fall win to advance to the consolation quarterfinals. Daity was defeated there and moved on to the seventh-place match, where she finished eighth overall in the weight class.

Up Next:
As mentioned, Frezzo and Guerrero move on to compete for All-American and National Champion status at the NCWWC National Championships in Cedar Rapids from March 8-9. Frezzo, a two-time national qualifier, is in search of her first All-American finish, while Guerrero looks to improve on her two All-American honors with an even better result in 2024.