Brawley girls’ wrestling takes first at Olympia meet
CHULA VISTA — Wrestling here on Saturday, the Brawley girls’ wrestling took first place at a meet hosted by Olympia High School.
This is only Brawley’s third year of fielding a full girls’ squad — having begun the independent program five years ago with “only four or five girls” per head coach Raymond Leon — but already they have established themselves as the Valley’s premier team in the sport, mirroring the 18-time CIF-SDS champion boys.
The team — which now numbers 30-plus — was clearly the class of the Olympia meet (which featured wrestlers from around 20 schools, per Leon), accumulating 171 team points … 64 more than second place Clairemont High.
The win in Chula Vista was the Wildcats second of the season after a Dec. 1 victory at a similar meet at Valley Center High.
These triumphs help salve a 16th-place finish at a Los Angeles area meet in late November where Brawley was lost in the shuffle against stiff competition.
Coach Leon says his team is progressing nicely and that they’re “expecting a CIF championship” in 2018-19 after taking second and fourth-place in the last two years.
“They’re looking good, but the proof will be in the pudding at the end of the year,” he continued.
Next up for the Wildcats will be a Saturday meet at Clairemont, followed by Brawley’s annual Queen of the Mat tournament on Dec. 22 at home. Individual placers at Olympia:
Alexus Espinoza (106 lbs., 3rd)
Julissa Alvarez (116 lbs., 3rd) Nyah Smallwood (121 lbs., 2nd)
Alexes Perez (137 lbs., 3rd) Jadyn Jardon (152 lbs., 2nd) Dylan Jardon (160 lbs., 1st) Miricle Barra (170 lbs., 3rd) Aislinn Hernandez (235 lbs., 2nd)