WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Pitt-Johnstown No. 4 seed Makayla Paclib (131 pounds) posted a 4-1 record and defeated Ursinus’ third-seeded Stacy Bloomfield 12-8 to claim third place and become the first Pitt-Johnstown women’s wrestler to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Three other Mountain Cats placed in the top six to help Pitt-Johnstown finish eighth in the 18-team field and cap an impressive first appearance in the tournament.
Along with Paclib, second-seeded Tamara Humphries (117) and third-seeded Emma Hoppe (145) advanced to Saturday’s semifinals. In the end, Humphries and fifth-seeded Rome Alvarez (124), who stormed back from an opening-round loss, came away with fifth-place finishes, and Hoppe placed sixth for the Mountain Cats.
Paclib will represent Pitt-Johnstown at the 2026 NCAA tournament in Coralville, Iowa, from March 4-7.
Lehigh pulled away from the field to claim the team regional title with 151.5 points, 35.5 points better than second-place West Liberty. Eastern (114), East Stroudsburg (109.5) and Ursinus (103) rounded out the top-five teams.
Paclib cruised into the semis with a 10-0 technical fall at 1:12 over 13th-seeded Kaleia Timko (Arcadia) and an 11-0 tech fall at 3:25 over fifth-seeded Gianna Amendola (East Stroudsburg). Paclib took on Lehigh’s top-seeded Aubre Krazer in Saturday’s semifinals and suffered a 9-0 decision loss to drop to the consolation semifinals, but rebounded by pinning Bethany sixth-seeded Rosemary Dodd at 5:47 to advance to the third-place match and a shot at earning a spot in the national tournament. In the third-place match, Paclib, cut an early 4-0 deficit to one in the second period, then took an 11-8 lead before holding off Bloomfield.
After a first-round bye at 117, Humphries defeated Cedar Crest’s Andi Bibeau 8-4 to reach the semifinals. Humphries built a 4-1 first-period lead, but Eastern's Josey Wehr battled back to earn a 12-6 decision, sending Humphries to the consolation semifinals. West Liberty’s Trinity Howard won by fall at 5:59, putting Humphries into the fifth-place match where she picked up a 9-1 win over Bibeau.
Alvarez bounced back from an opening round loss to 12th-seeded Mariah Mills (West Liberty) and win her next two bouts and advance to Saturday’s consolation semifinals. Alvarez followed up an 11-1 technical fall over Gannon’s Zoe Gaetzens with a 10-0 tech fall at 3:29 over sixth-seeded Olivia Palmer (East Stroudsburg) to stay alive to face Penn State Altoona’s seventh-seeded Richele Reyes, who she defeated by a 10-0 technical fall at 2:22 to reach the consolation semifinals and face Mills for a second time in the tournament. Mills won by fall in the first period, sending Alvarez to the fifth-place match. She pinned Kalli Roskos at 2:14.
Hoppe used a pair of pins to earn her spot in the semifinals. Hoppe pinned 14th-seeded Riley Lynch (Muhlenburg) 53 seconds into the opening period, then won by fall at 5:31 over 11th-seeded Grace O’Korn (West Liberty) in the quarterfinals. Hoppe was then pinned by second-seeded Cloe Charlesworth (Ursinus) in the semis and lost by fall in the consolation semifinals to sixth-seeded Makynna Loepp (Lehigh), putting her in the fifth-place match. However, fifth-seeded Marissa Rumsey (Lock Haven) pinned Hoppe at 2:07 giving her the sixth-place finish.