The first-ever NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships was expected to celebrate the growth of women’s wrestling. Instead, the opening day of the tournament was overshadowed by a shocking controversy involving Kaelani Shufeldt, who was disqualified after officials ruled that she bit her opponent during a match.
What was the biting controversy with Kaelani Shufeldt at the NCAA quarterfinal match?
The incident took place on March 6 during a 110-pound quarterfinal bout between Kaelani Shufeldt and Chloe Dearwester at the Xtream Arena, Coralville, Iowa. The North Central wrestler entered the match as the No. 3 seed and as one of the strongest contenders for the title. She started the showdown on a strong note, securing a 2-0 lead after an early takedown in the first period.
However, the match suddenly stopped when Dearwester screamed in pain and grabbed her arm. Officials paused the bout to allow injury time and to examine the situation. During the stoppage, officials noticed bite marks on Dearwester’s arm.
What was the officials’ call after the discovery of bite marks?
After discovering bite marks on Dearwester’s arm, the officials called a ‘brutality’ claim, as biting in wrestling is considered as one. This call immediately triggered a review by the tournament jury, and following this, the latter upheld the brutality call, which automatically led to Shufeldt’s disqualification from the match and the entire tournament.
The ruling also meant that her team lost any points she had earned in the event. As a result, Dearwester was declared the winner and advanced to the national semifinals.
All about the confusion and claims of Chloe Dearwester reportedly biting her own arm
Kaelani Shufeldt’s disqualification didn’t end the controversy; in fact, it created more chaos after video clips from their bout circulated online. Some viewers and former wrestlers claimed that Dearwester may have bitten her own arm.
In the videos making rounds online, the latter is seen grabbing her right arm in pain; however, bite marks were found on her left arm during the review. Some of the users also claimed that she was seen raising her left arm up to her mouth before she was examined by the officials.
In addition to this, another piece of footage from the controversy started circulating online, where both the wrestlers are seen heartbroken. The clip featured the referee raising the Presbyterian wrestler’s arm to declare the winner, but she was seen hesitant to raise her hand, which seemed like she didn’t want to win the match that way. One of the users on X posted this clip with a caption that read,
“Seeing this additional footage infuriates me even more… the position her own coach put her in is unfathomable; this poor athlete. She didn’t want to win the way. This is just heartbreaking.”
The North Central wrestling coach also later said that the bite mark found on Dearwester’s arm was a perfect circle of teeth marks on her left arm, and it would not be possible for Shufeldt to make that circle, as she wears a mouthpiece.
What did the North Central College and Presbyterian College wrestling coaches comment on this matter?
The North Central College wrestling coach, Joe Norton, expressed his disappointment on Kaelani Shufeldt’s controversy, revealing the entire decision of the officials. Explaining what they told him, he wrote:
“Officials reviewed the wrestling action. They said it didn’t look like Dearwester had the opportunity to bite herself. The referee with the whistle on the mat told me ‘from the video, it’s very clear that your wrestler bit her.'”
He added:
“We went back afterwards once we had acquired video of the bite during the injury time. Showed it to NCAA officials, who reviewed it with the head official, who made the decision to stick with his original call and DQ Shufeldt from the competition, stripping her team points as well. The bite mark was a perfect circle of teeth marks on Dearwester’s left wrist. The original injury was to her right elbow. Shufeldt wears a mouthpiece and would not have been able to make a circle of teeth marks like that. Officials were notified of this as well.”
He further went on to say that he didn’t believe there was any malice on Dearwester’s part and thinks that she bit her arm in the moment as a pain response. Norton also mentioned that his frustrations lay with the officials and not the wrestler or the Presbyterian staff.
On the other hand, the Presbyterian coach, Brian Vutianitis, said that since his wrestler was in too much pain, it might have been possible that she bit herself, and these things were put into the referee’s notice.
“While our wrestler was screaming in pain and in a situation where she was literally quivering from the pain she was in, it looks to be that she could’ve possibly done it herself, and those things were brought to the attention of the referee,” said Vutianitis.
Calling it an ‘unfortunate’ situation, he added:
“Definitely a very unfortunate situation, and we wish it was handled the right way.”
The NCAA women’s wrestling championships day 2 will be held on March 7 at the Xtream Arena, Coralville, Iowa.
Read More:
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