Girls wrestling is becoming more and more popular in the state of Arizona, with three Southern Arizona high school athletes winning individual titles in the AIA’s state meet last month.
Sunnyside’s Audrey Jimenez, Canyon del Oro’s Sophia Gilbert and Mountain View’s Ysela Gradillas-Flores all have one thing in common: softball. All three played the sport before finding a new calling on the mat.
Jimenez is now a two-time state champion in the 107-pound weight class. Prior to the state championship, Jimenez participated in nationals and world championships that prepared her for the state championship.
“I felt confident that I would have a really great chance at winning it,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez, a Sunnyside sophomore, is also a two-time international medalist. She said she plans to graduate next year and take a year off from school to train for the 2024 Olympic Games. After that, Jimenez said, she plans to go to college.
Audrey Jimenez wrestles Adyn Bostick in her family’s yard during training in 2020.
Gilbert is a first-time state champion in the 114-pound weight class. The 16-year-old said she begged her parents to let her wrestle. They initially didn’t like the idea of their daughter doing any kind of combat sports.
But the sport held an appeal to Gilbert. She played softball for eight years, but grew to dislike the long hours in the sun — not to mention the fact she had to rely on others to win.
Wrestling “is just the one sport that I’ve always wanted to continuously get better in,” Gilbert said.
The growth could be stomach-churning. Gilbert developed anxiety early on that would cause her to throw up continuously. She worked through it by pushing hard in practices and getting mentally stronger, which she says helped build her confidence.
“Sometimes you just have to tell yourself that you can do it,” she said, “and then you will do it.”
Gilbert’s coach at CDO, David Sholes, calls her a “wonderful individual” who is humble and genuine.
“She’s a delight in the room,” she said. “She is very tenacious in her training and practice and her work ethic is very remarkable. She learns from every match, she raises the bar and she remains coachable.”
For Gradillas-Flores, the state title in the 152-pound weight class marks a breakthrough. The senior placed second last year. Gradillas-Flores took up wrestling two years ago as a way to stay in shape for softball, her favorite sport since age 5. At first, Gradillas-Flores was unsure about practicing on what was an all-boys team.
Before long, Gradillas-Flores was putting more time into wrestling than softball.
“I actually really fell in love with wrestling,” Gradillas-Flores said.
Ysela Gradillas-Flores throws her sparring partner, younger sister Lillian, while working to learn freestyle wrestling techniques during an offseason session at Mountain View High School earlier this week.
Mountain View coach Rick Majalca said Gradillas-Flores had a natural ability for the sport.
“She was quick on her feet, she had very good reaction time, she was fast, she was very fast on the mat… She could understand her positioning that her body needed to be in certain types of scramble situations,” Majalca said.
After placing second in the 2021 state wrestling championship, Gradillas-Flores built her life around wrestling. She put in extra work, running extra miles and eating healthy. She had one goal, to be No. 1 in the state.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could be a state champion,” Gradillas-Flores said.
The state championship was Gradillas-Flores’ last match ever as a high school student. She told herself “this is it and I gotta give it my all because I got nothing to lose right here. ... This is my last match and I gotta let it go and I got no choice.”
Even though wrestling is an individual sport, Gradillas-Flores said she couldn’t have made it with the support of her coaches and family. Especially her mom.
“Every single thing that I needed to do to lead up to this point has been supported by her,” she said. “She’s such an inspiration for me.”
Gradillas-Flores plans to pursue her academic and athletic career in Southern Oregon, where she plans to studying criminal justice.