Girls and Boys Wrestlers Win BIIFs
FACEBOOK/CYNTHIA CANOSA VENTENILLA
By Jasmynn Taetuna-Fautanu
Sports Co-Editor
The Wrestlers came off from a huge winning season, both the girls and boys team won BIFFS, boys came in 9th place, and girls came in 19th place for states out of 59 schools. This is the first time out of 10 years that the boys have placed top 10 in states. Also, this is the girls first time in wrestling history that they’ve won BIFFs.
Girl wrestler, Shakira Ortiz-Strauss, is 17 and one of Konawaena’s 2024 graduates. She placed 1st at states in her division. Although Shakira pushed very hard this season, she also pushed through physical challenges. Ortiz says her biggest struggle throughout wrestling season was “Overcoming my injury that I got my Junior year and like dealing with the pain of my injury and like the mental blocks I had from that.” Some things that helped her overcome her physical challenges were “Mostly just relying on my teammates and my coaches to like help me and motivate me and then also by like trusting the work that I put into the sport.”
Boy wrestler, Nick Maira, only a sophomore and placed 3rd in states. Nick pushes hard to win all his matches because he “just really likes the look of a gold medal”. Maira says that his reaction to winning 3rd “ felt pretty good because I beat the guy that beat me earlier in the tournament but I know I can do better next year.” We can't wait to see Nick’s comeback for next season!
Rico Ventenilla, one of the wrestling coaches, says that the team this year “a lot of people stepped up, it's just awesome that the boys came in 9th in states, Nick Maira, 3rd, Akea Cariaga, 4th, Race Moxley 4th, and James Sina, 6th. And of course winning both girls and boys team championship was awesome.” Ventenilla’s greatest achievement as a coach this year was “Seeing the wrestlers become more mature not just on the mat but off the mat as well, so using the discipline we instilled with them but they use it in academics and how they live there life.”
The Wrestlers ended off with a huge winning season, we can’t wait to see the things that they will do next year!