In the debut season of their women’s wrestling program, the Evergreen State College Geoducks has already soared to new heights as they represented Washington in the Women’s Wrestling National Championship organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) last March 8 to 9 at the Harold Newman Arena in Jamestown, North Dakota.
The Geoducks who made history in their first appearance at the national level were comprised of the quartet of Nizhoni Tallman (109), Ellabelle Taylor (123), Erica Grant (130), and Flor Parker-Borreo (155), competing in their respective weight classes under the tutelage of Fan Zhang, who only joined last January 2023.
Zhang, a former Olympic team member with seven national championships in Chinese wrestling and several accolades as a coach, couldn’t hide his immense pride as his students faced off against top-tier wrestlers from NAIA schools across the country.
“We're the only 4-year public university in Washington to have a wrestling program. Washington wrestlers make Washington proud!" the head coach said. “We are Washington! What a proud way to represent!”
The standout performance for the Geoducks in the national tourney was that of Parker-Borreo in the 155-pound division. Affectionately known as Jasmine, she finished highest among the group at sixth place All-American in her weight class, spoiled by injury at the championship bouts.
Jasmine went to the semifinal, beating her rivals from Kentucky and Missouri to advance, before facing challenges during the semifinal due to injuries. Despite adversity, she persevered to contend for 3rd place despite her injuries.
Jasmine was leading 6-1 in the battle for third spot, but a nagging shoulder injury forced her to give away the match, 8-6, to her Californian foe. Fearing the worst, she forfeited the match for fifth place to enable herself to recover from injury and safely compete in future tournaments.
The Geoducks collectively amassed 20.5 points, just enough to place 20th out of 38 participating schools nationwide and leave an indelible mark in their inaugural appearance at the national championship to end their season. Menlo College won the whole championship with 172 points.
The national qualification comes from the heels of the women’s wrestling team’s impressive showing in last month's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Women's Wrestling Championships.
In the conference championships held last February 25 in Menlo College, Nizhoni Tallman made history as the program's first native student-athlete to finish on the podium as she placed 3rd in the 109-lb weight class, while Ellabelle Taylor, the youngest in the quartet, finished 4th in the 116-lb division. Olympia local Erica Grant placed 5th in the 130-lb weight division, while “Jasmine” Parker-Borreo placed 3rd in the 155-lb division.
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