BURNABY, B.C. – Taniela Feliciano-Takafua made his national meet debut for the Simon Fraser Red Leafs at the 2023 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The junior from Sunnyvale, California, went 1-2 in his three matches Friday at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.
 
In his opening contest, Feliciano-Takafua earned a 3-1 sudden victory triumph over Jake Swirple of Minot State (North Dakota). They were tied 1-1 after three periods. Feliciano-Takafua scored the winning two points on a takedown with 59 seconds left in the first overtime.
 
Next up was No. 8 seed Juan Edmond-Holmes of Lander (South Carolina). Feliciano-Takafua trailed 3-1 with five seconds to go and tried a throw to win the match. But Edmond-Holmes was able to record a takedown and then a four-point near fall to earn the 9-1 major decision.
 
Feliciano-Takafua lost a 6-3 decision to La`Ron Parks of Notre Dame (Ohio) in his final bout of the season. Parks recorded three takedowns in the first two periods to account for his scoring, while Feliciano-Takafua got three escapes. There was no scoring in the third.
 
"Nela wrestled well, especially in his first two matches," said SFU head coach Justin Abdou. "The 285-pound weight class is a tough one. The wrestler Nela beat won his next three matches to get a top-8 finish. Nela plans to come back next year to hopefully challenge for a national title. He's close but there is definitely work to do. He's been our top performer the last two years and we're looking forward to him getting to the next level in 2024."
 
Feliciano-Takafua concludes the 2022-23 NCAA season with a record of 27 wins and eight defeats.
 
2023 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships Results for Simon Fraser
285 pounds
Taniela Feliciano-Takafua (27-8) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.
Prelim - Taniela Feliciano-Takafua (Simon Fraser) 27-8 won in sudden victory - 1 over Jake Swirple (Minot State) 18-7 (SV-1 3-1)
Champ. Round 1 - Juan Edmond-Holmes (Lander) 20-5 won by major decision over Taniela Feliciano-Takafua (Simon Fraser) 27-8 (MD 9-1)
Cons. Round 1 - La`Ron Parks (Notre Dame (Ohio)) 33-7 won by decision over Taniela Feliciano-Takafua (Simon Fraser) 27-8 (Dec 6-3)
 
Three Red Leafs won junior national titles Friday at the 2023 Canadian Wrestling Championships (Senior, Junior, Cadet) in Waterloo, Ont. 
 
Ivy Threatful of Maple Ridge, B.C., captured all four of her round-robin matches to claim the junior Canadian championship at 53 kilograms. She had two pins and a pair of technical fall wins.
 
Port Alberni, B.C., wrestler Paige Maher defeated her three 72-kg opponents to earn the national title. Two wins came via fall, and the other was by technical fall.
 
Sam Pereira (Winnipeg) is the junior Canadian champion in the men's freestyle 92-kg weight class. He won all three of his matches via technical fall, including his first-place contest 11-1 over Xavier Lauzon.
 
Maddie MacKenzie of Calgary finished second in the women's 50-kg division.

The senior level competition gets underway on Saturday.

For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
 
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