The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Lopez family
With Olivia, it was concern that her timid nature might make her vulnerable.
“I was definitely super girly,” Olivia said. “And I was kind of being bullied by bigger girls. So he said, ‘We need to get her more athletic.’ ”
Olivia started in T-ball, soccer and gymnastics and then moved to jiu-jitsu before landing in wrestling. Wrestling was a tough go, as she was competing almost exclusively against boys who were driven to avoid the ego blow of losing to a girl.
“I probably cried after every loss,” she said. “There were lots of tears. It was hard. But I didn’t want to walk away and just quit. That’s not cool.”
Transformation came when, as an 8-year-old, she went to a state meet and suddenly found herself competing against only girls. She took home the first-place California Bear trophy and a fire to make wrestling a full-time pursuit.
To those back home, the idea of girly Olivia throwing bodies around seemed ludicrous.
“My middle school PE coach didn’t believe me when I said I was a wrestler,” she said. “I don’t know where he is, but I still don’t think he believes me.”
Olivia’s wrestling took a serious detour at Hamilton, with her freshman season lost to the COVID-19 pandemic and her sophomore year wiped out by shoulder surgery.
Back near 100 percent as a junior, she was a force, claiming CIF Southern Section and Masters Meet championships at 101 pounds, pinning every opponent. She was 15-1 in the postseason, losing only to state champion Brenda Nunez of Clovis Buchanan.
This season, at 105 pounds, Olivia is 37-3, including a 31-1 record against girls. She has won three tournament titles and finished second at the prestigious Queen of the Hill invitational to Walnut’s Anaya Falcon, who is unbeaten in her career.
Olivia also placed fifth in the Riverside County boys tournament. Juan said he was told by someone at the event that Olivia is likely the first girl to reach the podium there.
Olivia’s technical game has always run ahead of her strength and power, making her the opposite of her younger sister.
“Evelyn was always very small, but she was just so strong,” Juan said. “She almost reminds me of me. She wasn’t very technical and not that coordinated, but she’s so tough.”
Growing up in a wrestling family — uncle Ralphy Tovar also was
a state champion at Poway High School — Evelyn was naturally drawn to the sport. Olivia was probably the biggest influence.
“Even the days when I got beat up or was losing and not getting any takedowns,” Evelyn said, “I saw my sister, and I thought I could be that good, too. And I kept pushing through.”
Like her sister, and unlike her father, Evelyn found success quickly, winning her own California Bear trophy. And like both, she is discovering her power.
Evelyn is 29-11 and placed second at the Riverside County girls tournament and fifth at Queen of the Hill this season.
“I’m beating girls I thought were so much better than me,” she said, “and I’ve had close matches with girls I thought would destroy me.”
Completing Team Lopez is the girls’ mother, Katie, who is “100 percent in”, helping logistically and as a sounding board for athletes and coach.
“Our family vacations are wrestling trips,” Juan said.
Still, Olivia’s lost seasons are a reminder to Juan to keep things in perspective.
“I want them to wrestle because they want to wrestle,” he said. “If they didn’t want to, I’d still be happy and love them just as much.
“Wrestling is a big part of our life. But it’s not our whole life.”