Karissa Turnwall
Paloma Valley, Senior
MENIFEE >> As far back as she can remember, Karissa Turnwall always wanted to be a wrestler.
Turnwall tried her hand at a few other sports growing up, but she developed a love for wrestling because that was the sport of choice for her older brother Brent. Turnwall began wrestling competitively in the eighth grade and proved to be a natural. She helped Paloma Valley become one of the top girls wrestling programs in the state, and Turnwall leaves as the school’s most decorated wrestler.
As a senior, Turnwall captured her second CIF Southern Section individual championship, won her first Masters Meet title and became the first Paloma Valley wrestler — boy or girl — to advance to a championship match at a CIF State meet. She finished as the state runnerup at 111 pounds.
For those reasons, Turnwall has been selected the IE Varsity Girls Wrestler of the Year.
Paloma Valley coach Luis Robles recalled first seeing Karissa during the one season he coached her brother. Brent Turnwall placed third at the CIF Southern Section individuals back in 2019.
“We hadn’t seen her on the mat at that time, but I could tell she was an athlete,” Robles said.
Turnwall watched her brother wrestle for many years and that eventually sparked a fire inside her.
“Watching him, it just became something I really wanted to try myself,” Turnwall said. “I also love the community and environment that wrestling world has... There really is nothing quite like it.”
Turnwall racked up some good victories as a freshman, but Robles said the skills were still raw.
“She only had two moves back then,” Robles joked. “Then came a match we call ‘The Awakening.’ It was at CIF championships and she hit a Peterson (roll) for the first time. That is a pretty complicated move and she pulled it off perfectly... That was the moment we knew we had something really special.”
Turnwall’s sophomore season was limited to only dual-meet matches because of the pandemic, but she pinned every opponent she faced that season. She kept improving as a junior, winning a individual section title for the first time, finishing second at Masters and placing seventh at state.
Turnwall had big goals this season and accomplished most of them. She ended the campaign with a 35-4 record, with three of losses coming to eventual state champions in California, Colorado and Nevada. The fourth was to Kylee Golz of Trabuco Hills at the Dick Morris Big Kahuna Memorial in mid-january. Turnwall avenged that loss in the semifinal round at state, pinning Golz in first period.
Turnwall pinned 10 of her 14 opponents in CIF matches, eight of those coming in the first period.
“It feels good knowing that I have been able to be an example for the younger kids on our team,” Turnwall said of her career at Paloma Valley. “I have really enjoyed being a part of this program. We’re a family. We’ve worked extremely hard over the years — given our blood, sweat and tears — to help the program succeed.”
Turnwall and training partner Makayla Correa were freshman in 2020, when Paloma Valley captured its first CIF Southern Section championship. The Wildcats claimed two more titles in 2022 and 2023.
“We will keep striving and moving forward, but this really feels like an end of an area,” Robles said.