Young Mats Wrestling Squad Looks Ahead to Promising Future 
March 5th, 2024


Miramonte Wrestling completed a successful season capped off with 3 of our boys qualifying for the NCS Championships at James Logan—Owen Beidelman, Finn Hura, and Brody Suba. They were three hard workers with the most wins during the regular season so it's no fluke they placed at the DAL Championships qualifying them to wrestle at NCS against some of the toughest competition in Northern California.

At the women's NCS Championships, Izarra Ballesteros, senior captain, finished off her Mats Wrestling career on the podium with an 8th place medal—an incredible accomplishment as she only started wrestling last year after transferring to Miramonte from a school that didn't offer wrestling. She finished off her final season with a 20-8 record and won an amazing FIVE 1st-Place medals in regular season tournaments being voted Outstanding Wrestler by all the coaches at one of those tournaments. She also won the DAL post-season tournament wrapping up a First-Team All-League honor. Izzy always put the team before herself and summarized the season by saying, "All in all the season proved to be a success for everyone. The returning wrestlers this year saw improvement from all the time and work they put in and our first-years had a great start to their wrestling careers with massive potential for all. The community we've built over the past few months will carry into all the seasons to come."

In just 3 seasons Mats Wrestling has grown from only 9 wrestlers in 2021 to 50 wrestlers this past year. Despite the growth, this years version of mats wrestling was a very young team as 80% of the wrestlers were freshmen and sophomores. Most of the first-year wrestlers started the season without having ever seen a high school or college wrestling match before.

The first-years caught on quickly and had a very successful rookie year. One such wrestler was Cayleigh Farrar, a freshman volleyball player who decided to "try it out". She ended up wrestling 30 matches, winning 19 times, and finishing at the top of the podium in 1st place twice before an injury cut her season short. Summing up her season, Cayleigh said, "This wrestling season presented challenges, but through adversity, it taught me valuable lessons and inspired me to push my limits, discovering my true capabilities through hard work and perseverance. I had an amazing season and am ready for next year."

Finn Hura, another freshman, wrestled 45 matches and won 31 times. He won a varsity tournament during the regular season, took 3rd at the DAL Championships, and qualified for NCS where he won twice against some of the toughest wrestlers in the section. He said, "There was a lot of work and hours put in this season. It paid off in the end and was a lot of fun."

Sophomore Claire Casado is a shining example of perseverance. Last year, as a first-year, she worked hard and got better each and every match but ended up winless. Undeterred, she stuck with it, trusted in the process, won an amazing 20 matches this season, capturing 6 medals, finishing 4th at the DAL Championships and came away with a victory at a match at NCS. Her improvement was astounding.

Summarizing the season, Coach Louis Suba said, "I'm proud of this group. Wresting is a tough sport. It's not for everyone. There's a greater chance of heartbreak than there is happiness but the successful ones come back despite the pain. And that pain is just temporary. They go through a lot of adversity but that's how they build character. It's not about the wins and losses or the score at the end of the match. They grow through the struggle, building their confidence and inner strength. It's rewarding to see that transformation and that's what's most important."