Girls wrestling wins 2nd place at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Championships while 13 athletes qualify for the CIF Masters Meet

As a result of the California Interscholastic Federation Championships (CIF) individual matches, thirteen wrestling athletes will advance to the Southern Section Masters Qualifiers. In addition to the athletes that qualified, Girls Wrestling placed 2nd place in the northern division for CIF among 81 other schools. 

After tackling the Individual CIF matches, wrestlers are ready to take on their next challenge: the CIF Masters Meet, which will be held at Sonora High School on February 20. As the team prepares for their matches, athletes trust in their abilities and hard work to help them succeed in their upcoming competition. 

“I feel confident going into the CIF Masters Meet,” senior Nicole Chavez said. “I have a lot to prove this year since I have been doubted a lot. I was a transfer from Wilson High School and people never really saw me as a CIF champ. [Therefore], I had to work really hard. Ever since I was a sophomore, I’ve been training every single day [and with the Masters Meet] I want to prove everyone [who doubted me] wrong.”

Beyond athletes’ determination for the upcoming matches, Wrestling coach Cecil Sebastian shares his thoughts going into CIF Masters Meet. 

“I want the kids to have fun. These kids work hard, they don’t do anything else but go to school and wrestle,” Sebastian said. “My mindset is to keep everything in perspective: go out there, have fun and trust your training. Trust the work that they put in, their teammates, their coaches, and go out there and do their thing. I want them to wrestle free, and like I always tell them, ‘let your wrestling fly.” Don’t hold back and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.” 

Prior to the CIF Masters Meet, 23 athletes competed on February 13 and 14 at Canyon Springs High School and Adelanto High School for CIF individual matches. With a large number of athletes being able to qualify for CIF, varsity’s most valuable players (MVP) senior Emilyn Yoshii and junior Ty Thompson reflect on the CIF matches and the overall season. 

“I think it’s really special and unique [that a lot of my teammates qualified for CIF], especially for this sport. Not a lot of schools have a lot of athletes that can qualify for CIF,” Yoshii said. “So being able to compete at CIF this coming weekend with a lot of my teammates is really special. It keeps that team feeling and companionship.”

With the conclusion of the CIF individual matches and the upcoming CIF Masters Matches, athletes reflect on their progress as they near the end of their season. 

“I feel like our season went really well. It started off with some rough patches, as we were at a loss with almost the entire varsity team from last year being gone. But we improved as time went on,” Thompson said. “There was a lot of trial and error because we didn’t have a clear set of who was in charge. So, me and a few others stepped up and helped lead the team through tournaments and duels. [In the end] working together helped us out.”