PALO CEDRO, Calif. – A series of strong individual performances marked the start to Linfield's third season of NCAA wrestling on Saturday at the Simpson Duals. Both the men's team and the women's team competed at the event, hosted by Simpson University (Calif.) but held at nearby Foothill High School.  
 
Linfield, which instituted men's and women's wrestling starting with the 2022-23 season, was led by unblemished performances from Jonathon Fagen on the men's side and Paige Chafin, Emily Sullenger and Ayana Medina on the women's. 
 
Thanks to a scoring quirk, the Linfield women dropped a 20-19 heartbreaker in their opener to Westcliff University (Calif.). Since the host, Simpson, is an NAIA school, rules from that governing body were used. The NAIA recognizes a 235-pound weight class, which the NCAA does not, so Linfield had no one on the roster at that weight. Forfeiting the weight class cost the Wildcats the dual (Westcliff is also an NAIA school). 
 
Even so, Linfield could have claimed the dual by accepting forfeits at weights in which Westcliff didn't enter an athlete, but coach Frank Johnson opted to move some Wildcat wrestlers up weight classes to get matches rather than take the easy points.  
 
"The team scores mean very little at this point," Johnson said. "We made it clear to our wrestlers before we made the trip that this is all practice – a chance to take measure of their progress." 
 
Against Simpson in the second match, the Wildcat women were again paced by back-to-back dominant wins at Chafin at 131 and Sullenger at 138. Against the Redhawks, Chafin pinned her opponent in 3:16 and Sullenger won her matchup by pin in 1:16. The hosts still prevailed 23-16 in the end. 
 
"For some of the women, this was their first college competition," Johnson said. "We saw a lot of encouraging things from them this weekend. Ayana is off to a great start and Paige has been a great addition to the team. They both wrestled well. Emily, who is on the Portland campus as a nursing student, worked very hard just to be here. Despite the challenging schedule and juggling commitments, she also performed at a high level." 
 
The Linfield men faced Fresno City College and Sacramento City College in their first two duals. Both compete in the 22-team California Community College Athletic Association, which starts its wrestling season in early September and is considered one of the nation's top junior college conferences. At the midpoint of their seasons, Fresno City is 9-0 in dual meets and Sac City is 6-3. 
 
Because of early-season weight certification issues, most of the Linfield lineup was wrestling up a weight class from where they will be the rest of the season. The 'Cats were also giving up three forfeits because of the weight issues. 
 
"We knew it would be a challenge, given our overall level of experience and knowing we would be facing teams that have been training and competing since August," Johnson said. "On paper, our guys took some lumps as a team today, but in truth they did what we hoped they would do. They competed hard and gave us a lot of data to work with – data that will help inform upcoming training sessions. We're a long way from where we want to be, but I think several of these guys will become pleasant surprises by the end of the season." 
 
The 'Cats then faced Menlo and #9-ranked Southern Oregon, falling to both. Fagen, a transfer student wearing Linfield purple and cardinal for the first tiem, swept his matches, going 4-0 with three pins on the day. 
 
"We will continue to work with them on getting better in the positions that are giving them the biggest challenges and helping them get better at handling different situations," Johnson said. "As a group, they need a lot of mat time. In that aspect, this was a great trip for them. We're looking forward to the upcoming matches and seeing how they continue to grow and learn." 
 
NEXT
Both the Linfield men and women have a much shorter trip for the next tournament, just 26 miles up the road from campus to Forest Grove for the Mike Clock Open hosted by Pacific University. The men compete Nov. 10 and the women are in action again on Nov. 17. 
  Westcliff University (Calif.) 20, Linfield 19
103: Double FFT
110: Alana Thompson (Westcliff) pinned Tori Debold (Linfield), 0:50
117: Double FFT
124: Hailee Moreno (Westcliff) pinned Kelsie Rush (Linfield), 1:06
131: Paige Chafin (Linfield) won by tech fall over Ruby Barrett Reese (Westcliff), 10-0
138: Emily Sullenger (Linfield) pinned Raeanna Halvorson (Westcliff), 2:38
145: Double FFT
160: Klaira Flatt (Linfield) won by FFT
180: Ayana Medina (Linfield) won by FFT
207: Kyree Rubio (Westcliff) pinned Abisua Perez-Diaz (Linfield), 1:14
235: Fernanda Canedo (Westcliff) won by FFT
 
Simpson University (Calif.) 23, Linfield 16 
101: Aphrodite Ayala (Simpson) pinned Tori Debold (Linfield), 0:55
110: Jacqueline Palacencia (Simpson) pinned Kelsie Rush (Linfield), 2:43
117: Double FFT
124: Joy Jeremiah (Simpson) won by FFT
131: Paige Chafin (Linfield) pinned Clarissa Cabrera (Simpson), 3:16
138: Emily Sullenger (Linfield) pinned Josefina Jimenez (Simpson), 1:16
145: Audrey Villalon-Estrada (Simpson) won by decision over Klaira Flatt (Linfield), 11-2
160: Ayana Medina (Linfield) pinned Angela Gutierrez (Simpson), 2:11
180: Addrie Rodriguez (Simpson) pinned Abisua Perez-Diaz (Linfield), 0:22
207: Double FFT
235: Double FFT
  Fresno City College 44, Linfield 10
125: Zane Cerda (Fresno City) won by FFT 
133: Jacob Moore (Linfield) won by major decision over David Gonzales (Fresno City), 19-8
141: Chris Ybarra (Fresno City) won by FFT
149: Emmanuel Plascencia (Fresno City) pinned Max Vander Meide (Linfield), 3:00
157: Kenny Rodgers (Fresno City) won by decision over Carlos Kisokwa (Linfield), 11-4
165: Max Williams (Fresno City) won by tech fall over Alex Tapia (Linfield), 15-0
174: Ayden Cortez (Fresno City) pinned Lucien Lefebvre (Linfield), 3:47
184: Juan Luquin (Fresno City) won by FFT
197: Jonathon Fagen (Linfield) pinned Jose Martinez (Fresno City), 1:31
HWT: Javier Martinez (Fresno City) pinned Julian Ortiz (Linfield), 2:05 
 
Sacramento City College 33, Linfield 24
125: Daniel Arellano (Sac City) won by FFT
133: Billy Thornton (Sac City) pinned Jacob Moore (Linfield), 0:44
141: Donovan Duncan (Sac City) won by FFT
149: Max Vander Meide (Linfield) pinned Christian Rivera (Sac City), 1:47
157: Carlos Kisokwa (Linfield) pinned Aaron Garcia (Sac City), 1:11
165: Elijah Arnold (Sac City) pinned Alex Tapia (Linfield), 7:00
174: Lucien Lefebvre (Linfield) pinned Jair Green (Sac City), 3:46
184: Logan Leckie (Sac City) won by FFT
197: Jonathon Fagen (Linfield) pinned George Marshall (Sac City), 3:20 
HWT: Jai Guerra (Sac City) won by decision over Julian Ortiz (Linfield), 7-2
 
Menlo 45, Linfield 6
125: Double FFT
133: Giancarlo Plaza (Menlo) pinned Jacob Moore (Linfield), 2:43
141: David Arroyo (Menlo) won by FFT
149: Michael Ramos (Menlo) pinned Max Vander Meide (Linfield), 4:37
157: Jesus Loreto (Menlo) won by major decision over Carlos Kisokwa (Linfield), 19-7
165: JT Nishikawa (Menlo) won by tech fall over Alex Tapia (Linfield), 17-2
174: Nikita Smatov (Menlo) pinned Lucien Lefebvre (Linfield) Fall 3:51
184: Orion Jenkins Snell (Menlo) won by FFT
197: Jonathon Fagen (Linfield) pinned Diego Chaidez (Menlo), 2:02 
HWT: Andrew Mannion (Menlo) pinned Julian Ortiz (Linfield), 3:19 
 
Southern Oregon 50, Linfield 4
125: Kyle Sieminski (SOU) won by FFT
133: Dylan Clark (SOU) won by tech fall over Jacob Moore (Linfield), 20-1
141: Tyler Rhue (SOU) won by FFT
149: Jonathan Hernandez (SOU) pinned Max Vander Meide (Linfield), 2:50
157: Dylan Straley (SOU) won by tech fall over Carlos Kisokwa (Linfield), 18-1
165: Paul Ortiz (SOU) pinned Hayden Briggs (Linfield), 0:31
174: Noah Talavera (SOU) pinned Lucien Lefebvre (Linfield), 0:40
184: Adrian Chavez Morales (SOU) won by FFT
197: Jonathon Fagen (Linfield) won by major decision over John White (SOU), 21-8
HWT: Ben Hughes (SOU) won by major decision over Julian Ortiz (Linfield), 11-1