Mount Pleasant — Adaugo Nwachukwu (San Jose, Calif./Iowa Wesleyan) has been selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, USA Wrestling has announced.
Nwachukwu, a freshman for Iowa Wesleyan, won the 136-pound title at the NAIA Women’s National Championships over the weekend.
Entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed, she bonused her way to the semifinals, earning first-period pins in the Round of 32 and quarterfinals along with a 10-0 technical fall in the Round of 16. Nwachukwu shutout the No. 12 seed Diana Dzasezeva from Waldorf in the semis to punch her ticket to the finals.
There, she faced 2019 NAIA National champion and second-seeded Gracie Figueroa of Menlo, who was a 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist.
Nwachukwu seemed unfazed by the caliber of her opponent, using a four-pointer in each period to propel her to 13-3 technical fall for the national title.
Nwachukwu is Iowa Wesleyan’s first national champion in program history.