Comets shine bright at Cerritos Open
Comets fans, alumni, and supporters,
I couldn't be more proud of our performance at the recent Cerritos Women's Open tournament. Competing in a field full of national-level wrestlers and All-Americans, our team rose to the challenge and finished with two bronze medalists.
The results from my perspective:
- Alexa Rosales: Alexa started wrestling freestyle three weeks ago and has not competed in several years. If you were watching her wrestle this weekend, you would not think either of those facts were true. She had an excellent first-match victory against a seasoned Menlo opponent and put up a great fight against a national All-American. I'm excited to see her continue to improve!
- Anastasia Tolentino: I'm proud of Anastasia for fighting through some adversity, including a very questionable (and concerning) officiating call that did not go our way. She wrestled hard but got outmaneuvered a few times, which is hard to come back from in freestyle. Anastasia should be proud of the way she battled!
- Anya Rodriguez (3rd): Anya looked fantastic this weekend. After a slow start in her first match, she dominated her competition to come back for third. She is such a dangerous wrestler, and when she consistently gets to her tie-ups and attacks, she picks her opponents' defenses apart. It's excellent seeing her reach the podium at such a challenging event.
- Sierra Mefford (3rd): After dropping a very close first match, Sierra ran through the consolation bracket into the third-place bout, where she got another shot at the same opponent who had beaten her. We adjusted our game plan, and she dominated the match. This is a big win against the #17 ranked wrestler in the country. It proves that Sierra can compete with the best. I'm most proud of the fact that she stepped up and endured the fatigue of back-to-back matches.
As I told the girls, this was a very special tournament for us in that it was the official start of a brand-new tradition. Palomar wrestling has been around for many, many decades, and countless young men have had life-changing experiences in the program. I'm committed to building this team so that young women will have the same opportunity.
What's Next
We'll have a few weeks to regroup before heading off to the Menlo Open.
New Athletes
There is still time to join the team. This year, students only need to be enrolled in 6 units to compete, and the season will not count against CCCAA eligibility. It's essentially a free year. Our doors are open!
Go Comets!
-Tim Box
Women's Wrestling is a CCCAA emerging sport for the 2023 season.