Female Athlete of The Week: Anaiah Guajardo Zarate

Palisade sophomore, Anaiah Guajardo Zarate, is the female Athlete of the Week brought to you by Palisade Dino Mart. Anaiah plays softball, soccer, and she wrestles. She does wrestling currently and she wrestles in the 115 weight division. According to Anaiah, she wrestles for the “D51 Phoenix girls wrestling team which is a combination of Palisade, Central, Junction, Fruita, and even a girl from Glenwood Springs.” Anaiah gave some background information on wrestling. She said, “I have been wrestling for about a total of 8 years, but I started competing the last four years. My brother was always wrestling and I was always around wrestling. I saw how confident and strong it made him feel. I wanted to see if I would like that, and I did.” Anaiah’s favorite thing about wrestling is “The confidence it gives you, but also the humility. When you win you feel happy and like ‘I did this.’ With other sports it is a team thing and everybody contributes, but in wrestling you can take full credit for it. It also goes the same way when you lose. It makes you more humble because you can’t blame anybody but yourself. It helps you focus more on the things that you need to work on.” Anaiah talked about some of her hobbies outside of school and wrestling. She said, “I like making things with my hands. I make Mexican bracelets and I also like volunteering a lot. I do a lot of work with my church and I am also in the Interact Club here at school.” When asked who her biggest inspiration is she responded with, “My dad, because he really helps me calm myself. We are so similar, as well as our personalities. He helps me work through my emotions and whenever I feel stressed out or I am nervous or I am angry, he understands me and he helps me control myself.”  Anaiah was asked what her greatest accomplishment is and she replied with, “I was thinking material things, like in softball I got a couple of rewards last year and this year, but it doesn’t stand out to me as much as the way I’ve changed. I used to be really different, like in 8th grade. Now I feel like I am definitely nicer to people, I am definitely not the nicest, but I have changed a lot. I have become a better person, even though I still make mistakes. That is probably my biggest achievement.” Anaiah is also 1 out of 2 state qualifiers which is a huge accomplishment. Anaiah’s advice for an incoming freshman athlete is “Go all in and put in all your effort. The more you commit to it you will see that you enjoy the sport more. Even though you are taking it a bit seriously, you can wholeheartedly say that you are giving it your all. It makes you feel better about yourself.” 

With an amazing season and finishing out the season as a state qualifier, wish Anaiah luck and show her your support.