Many Tucson-area high school wrestlers who competed at the state championship in Phoenix last week returned home as champions.
Legacy high school wrestling programs, such as Sunnyside, Pueblo and Sahuarita, continued to make history, while emerging programs like Mountain View Marana are making a name for themselves on the mat.
Here’s how a few Southern Arizona high school wrestlers performed at this year’s state tournament. (Listed in alphabetical order.)
Canyon del Oro
Canyon del Oro High School’s Taylor Wolf is the only Dorado to place in the state tournament this year.
Wolf finished third in the 140-pound weight class.
Cienega
Cienega High School had three state champions this season, a first in program history, according to the school.
Daesiah Varner poses for a photo outside the wrestling room at Cienega High School last year.
Former Arizona Daily Star High School Student-Athlete of the Week Daesiah Varner took home the state title in the 237-pound weight class after defeating Centennial’s Camille Gatrost, 6-1. She is now Cienega’s first three-time state champion.
In addition to winning the state championship, Varner went undefeated this season, ending the year with a 36-0 record. Varner’s season marks the first undefeated season in Cienega history.
In the boys division, Adrian “AJ” Berryhill took home the state title in the 217-pound weight class, and Luke Ferguson placed third in the 115-pound weight class. Both wrestlers finished the winter season with over 50 wins.
Marana
Marana High School senior Owen Proper made Arizona high school wrestling history at the state championships by breaking the career wins record.
Proper surpassed the previous record of 253, set by Coolidge’s Eric Garcia around 20 years ago, with a total of 255 career wins.
At the state tournament, he placed third in the 146-pound weight class.
Other wrestlers who placed at the tournament include Leland Frost (third, 108 pounds), Xander Poulin (third, 115 pounds) and Isaac Moore (second, 134 pounds).
In the girls division, previous Arizona Daily Star High School Student-Athlete of the Week Roxi Singer placed fourth in the 134-pound weight class.
Marana High School wrestler Roxi Singer poses for a photo before practice, Jan. 29.
Mica Mountain
Mica Mountain High School’s Landon Edwards returned to Tucson as champion in the 108-pound weight class.
In the girls division, Laila Beltran placed second in the 102-pound weight class. Teammate Avery Trujillo finished second in the 237-pound weight class.
Mountain View (Marana)
Mountain View High School's wrestling program made a name for itself at this year’s state wrestling tournament with multiple top-three finishes.
In the boys tournament, Owen Ostroski finished second in the 115-pound weight class, followed by second-place finishes in the 122-pound weight class by Josiah Buchanan and Henry Ofeciar in the 128-pound weight class.
Marcos Gradillas placed third in the 159-pound weight class while teammate Landon Weaver finished fourth in the 192-pound weight class.
In the girls division, Siana Carabeo placed third in the 134-pound weight class, while Hayden Smith snagged third in the 147-pound weight class.
Pueblo
Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith, left, and her brother, Jozeph Valenzuela Smith, smile for a portrait before an afternoon practice at Pueblo High School, Feb. 6, 2026.
Pueblo High School’s wrestling royalty, Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith and Jozeph Valenzuela Smith, have done it again.
The elder Valenzuela Smith finished his high school wrestling career with back-to-back state championships in the 167-pound weight class.
His sister Elizabeth took home first place in the 116-pound weight class, marking her third consecutive state championship.
Other Pueblo wrestlers who placed at the tournament include: Anthony Trujillo (fourth, 287 pounds), Markos Gomez (sixth, 122 pounds) and Gabriel Ruiz (sixth, 192 pounds).
Jozeph Valenzuela Smith and his sister Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith, right, lead warm-ups during an afternoon wrestling practice at Pueblo High School, Feb. 6, 2026.
Rio Rico
Jessence Octavio-Callejo is the only top finisher from Rio Rico High School this year.
The senior took home the championship title in the 237-pound weight class.
Sahuarita
Sahuarita High School had five first-place finishes at this year’s state tournament, and no, that’s not a typo.
Sebastian Serrano (134 pounds), James Buck III (146 pounds), Marcus Killgore (159 pounds), Sergio Macias (167 pounds) and Nathaniel Gallardo (177 pounds) all earned championship titles in their respective weight classes.
Teammates Derek Wade (115 pounds) finished in second and Evan Cher (108 pounds) placed third.
In the girls division, Iliana Rodriguez placed fourth in the 116-pound weight class and Amaris Aguilar finished fifth in the 147-pound weight class.
Sahuaro
Sahuaro High School’s Christian Marsh placed second in the 159-pound weight class.
Although he didn’t place in the top three, teammate Isaac Lugo finished fifth in the 167-pound weight class.
Salpointe Catholic
Salpointe Catholic High School had multiple top-three finishers at the state tournament.
Joseph Figueroa finished in first in the 217-pound weight class.
Teammates Benjamin Higgins (140 pounds) and Ryler Jones (152 pounds) both finished third in the tournament.
Maurice “Myles” Lux came close to placing in the top three, but ultimately finished fourth in the 108-pound weight class.
Sunnyside
The storied wrestling program at Sunnyside High School continued to leave its mark in Arizona. The boys team took home its 39th championship, while the girls team earned its second championship.
On an individual level, the boys had three first-place finishes: Jack Thrush (108 pounds), Malik Hoskins (115 pounds) and Xavier Chavez (152 pounds).
The boys also had four second-place finishes: Francisco Miranda (122 pounds), Carmine Cruz (146 pounds), Lucas Mata (217 pounds) and Zayne Candelaria (287 pounds).
Teammates Damien Balderrama (128 pounds) and Yassael Gonzalez (177 pounds) both finished in third.
In the girls division, Jaylean Alfaro placed first in the 140-pound weight class.
Riella Garza (128 pounds) and Alezandra Robles (167 pounds) both placed second in their weight classes.
Isela Villalobos (102 pounds) and Jazlene Wyatt (154 pounds) finished in third.
Tombstone
Tombstone High School’s Wyatt Eddy placed second in the 122-pound weight class at the state tournament.
While no wrestler placed in the top three of the girls division, Isabel Rocas finished fifth in the 116-pound weight class.
Walden Grove
Walden Grove High School’s Brett Bates returned to Tucson as a champion, finishing in first in the 128-pound weight class.
In the girls division, Isabella SantaMaria placed first in the 147-pound weight class.
