Comets rise to occasion at State
Comets fans, alumni, and supporters,
We competed at the inaugural Women's CCCAA Championship Tournament this past weekend. Although the team experienced some adversity, we had a great showing and earned three medals at the event.
Our performance from my perspective:
Alexa Rosales (5th) - Alexa made the tournament semi-finals before losing a very close bout to the runner-up from Santa Rosa. She then wrestled an intelligent and controlled match to earn fifth place. While I don't think Alexa wrestled to her potential, she was still able to become our first CCCAA medalist! I'm excited to see Alexa continue to improve and show how talented she is out on the competition mat.
Anastasia Tolentino (4th) - Despite multiple injuries, a challenging weight cut, and a comment from an utterly out-of-line referee, Anastasia showed outstanding grit to place in the top 4. Many wrestlers would have decided to quit for any one of these reasons, but Anastasia powered through to a fourth-place finish. Anastasia finishes her career as a two-time state medalist, as she placed 3rd at the unofficial state tournament last season.
Anya Rodriguez (Injury Defaulted) - Unfortunately, Anya was injured in her second match and could not continue wrestling. As a coach, this is one of the most difficult things to deal with, as I know Anya was locked in on accomplishing her goals. She still had a fantastic year, as she finished 3rd at the Cerritos Open and 2nd at the Menlo Open. She also had victories over the state champion and state runner-up. I'm confident that Anya is only getting started and will rebound from this setback like a champion.
Sierra Mefford - Sierra was dominant over her competition from start to finish. She pinned every opponent leading up to the finals and then won by technical fall in the 2nd period in the finals. Simply put, Sierra put in the work and earned that state title. I'm so happy she is finally an official state champion after winning "unofficial" state titles in both high school and college. She is Palomar Women's Wrestling's first All-American and State Champion!
I'm so proud of this team for committing to the process, putting in the work, and being trailblazers for this sport. Congratulations to all for an excellent season!!
Seeing the growth in this sport is remarkable. Last season our unofficial tournament was held alongside a kids' freestyle tournament. This year's event was entirely different and was clearly a legitimate CCCAA Championship event. We are looking to grow our squad for next season, so if you know anyone interested in wrestling at the next level, please have them contact me.
What's Next
We have a quick turnaround as Sierra Mefford will be competing against the best in the country at the US Open. This is a great opportunity to make some noise at the Senior level!
--Head Coach, Tim Box