On January 16, over 90 high schools brought their talented athletes to showcase their team’s determination, grit, and strength, giving each wrestler an individual chance to win their weight class in this year’s Women’s Wrestling Invitational at Ayala.
Ayala High School had a minimum day on January 16. Despite everyone’s excitement, not many know the reason why we had one. This was for the Women’s Wrestling Invitational that hosted 15 weight class tournaments ranging from 95 pounds to 235 pounds for two days of non-stop wrestling action.
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Poway High School featured four weight-class winners, including Ava Fodera (12) from the 105 LB class with a score of 9-1, Ava Ebrahimi (12) defeating her opponent 4-0 in her 120 LB weight class bout, and Aleia Apostol (10) dominating with a 14-1 victory in the 125 LB weight class. The Titans serve as a mini-dynasty in this year’s women’s annual wrestling tournament. In fact, Poway is known for its wrestling across both genders, as they hold the record for the most dominant team in California history. They also scored the most points at the California State Wrestling Championships ever. This is emphasized within their 37 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) team titles under Wayne Branstetter and 266 CIF individual champions.
Aside from the Titans’ prominent victory, several other notable winners from this tournament won by landslides. Starting with the lower end, Lilian Vargas (12) from Corona won the 95 LB weight class 11-3 in the final bout.
Paris Soria (9), from the 115 LB weight class, and Newbury Park’s Madison Black (12), from the 130 LB weight class, won with a complete domination of 16-3.
Madison Worden (12) from Centennial High School blew out her opponent 17-1 for the 140 LB weight class, while Jestinah Solouma (11) from Corona High School shut out her opponent 12-0 for the 145 LB belt.
Ending off with the heaviest weight class, Hailey Barrios (12) from Citrus Valley High School crushed her opponent 6-0.
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These skilled women show the abilities of women wrestlers. The many resilient, athletic, and experienced athletes who competed at the invitational continue to dispel societal norms about women’s sports, highlighting that wrestling knows no gender.
