While many states across the country are in the building phase with women’s wrestling, California considers itself in a rebuilding stage. 

The COVID-19 pandemic locked down mats across the state and stunted growth in one of the nation’s top women’s wrestling hotbeds. But the tradition is still rich, the foundation is still sturdy, the desire to compete might be stronger than ever, and Thursday proved that The Golden State still remains the gold standard in the sport. 

California raced out to a big lead early and held off a late charge from upstart Michigan to finish a dominant two-day performance at the Junior National Duals with a 37-26 victory in the women’s freestyle championship. 

California compiled a 68-30 match record during its march to a second straight Junior Duals title. Five wrestlers in the California lineup — Madison Avila, Mikayla Garcia, Arieana Arias, Isabella Marie Gonzales and Johanna Forman — went undefeated on the tournament with at least four victories each and helped spur Thursday’s win in the finals. 

Avila, Garcia, Arias and Gonzales contributed to California’s seven-match win streak to start the championship dual. 

“We knew we had to take the lead with the lighter weights, so we were putting our ‘A’ team out in front and saying, ‘We have to win these matches’ because we knew they had heavy hitters as we go down the weight classes,” California coach Malinda Ripley said. “We knew what we had to do in order to get to the end.” 

California’s fast start featured a fall and four technical superiority victories, including three consecutive shutout techs, which led to a 26-3 advantage. That cusion proved to be pivotal as Michigan reeled off four consecutive falls late, including one at 180 pounds, where #1 Sabrina Nauss pinned Sam Calkins, who’s ranked #1 at 200. 

Nauss went 7-0 during the tournament with four falls and three techs. Top-ranked heavyweight Eliana Bommarito notched five first-period falls and a pair of forfeits on her way to a 7-0 mark for Michigan. 

The runner-up finish was still quite a statement for Michigan, which just sanctioned girls wrestling at the high school level last year. 

“They wrestled great,” Michigan coach Mario Flores said of his team. “We took on and took out some heavy hitters. There are some teams from around the country that are established wrestling states — Oklahoma, Washington, California. There are some teams that have had a foothold on women’s wrestling, they’re doing a great job, they have huge networks of support, they have great coaching staffs, phenomenal athletes, so when we went through the tournament we knew we had some good girls and we knew we had some girls who are just learning and we’re bringing them into the fold, but it’s a dual tournament. 

“For us to make the final the way we did, it’s just a testament to our girls and their effort. We’re super proud of them. They’re having a blast, man. Michigan’s always had a handful of good girls, but we just haven’t been able to put it together yet. We’re doing that now and it’s exciting.” 

The pieces came together for California, too. Ripley said the state has been “rebuilding” since the pandemic. 

“The foundation of California wrestling, it’s strong,” she said. “We’re rooted out there. Being ripped away during Covid and not being able to be on the mat — if you lived in California, you were nowhere near a mat, most of the time — it made us embrace our traditions and go back to our roots and embrace the ground level and say, ‘Man, it feels good to be back here’ and bring it all together and bring the kids back here. Everybody wants to be part of it now.”  

Gold/Silver Pool Placements 

Championship — California 37, Michigan 26

Third — Texas 43, Illinois 23

Fifth — Missouri 40, Washington 27

Seventh — Colorado 51, Indiana 13