CENTER — Center High School freshman Giselle Meraz is the first female varsity wrestler in the school’s history.
CHS Athletic Director Linda Donaldson said there have been middle school girl wrestlers, but Meraz is the first varsity wrestler ever, which also makes her the only girl wrestler at Center, for now.
Until the Vikings can get more girls out for wrestling, Meraz competes on the girls wrestling team at nearby Alamosa High School.
The Mean Moose competed at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev., this past weekend, Dec. 15-17, and placed 15th as a team on the strength of two wrestlers that advanced to the medal rounds in the 115-pound weight class. Meraz placed fourth after advancing to the semifinals. Teammate Sarah De La Cerda took first and earned All-American honors.
Meraz upset the tourney’s top seed, 8-5, in the quarterfinals and lost 8-6 in the semis. She advanced to the third-place match with a 10-0 win but then lost 5-3 to finish fourth. There were 20 girls in the 115-pound class.
“She was outstanding,” said her coach, Rusty Johnson.
Meraz is excited for more competitions and to see how far she can go.
“I am just wanting to see how good I can do. I can’t wait to see where this all goes,” Meraz said.
Meraz used to watch her older brother wrestle and thought it was boring, until she stepped onto the mat when she was middle school.
“At first, I hated watching my brother practice all the time. I thought it just looked super boring. Then one day I thought, you know what I am going to try it. I tried it and I thought whoa, this is really fun,” she said.
Meraz said her middle school coach Tito Chavez was instrumental in her development. She also said her mom, dad and brother have supported her every step of the way.
Meraz said she was nervous to compete at Alamosa but that all went away when she stepped into the wrestling room.
“At first, I was super nervous about wrestling and traveling. Wrestling though, I have made more friends, that’s another reason I like wrestling too,” she said.
Meraz said she practices about two hours a day and “I think about wrestling a lot, you have to put your mind there.”
She plans to wrestle all through high school and has a lofty goal.
“My goal is to be a 4-time state champion. It’s a big goal, but I believe in myself. I think I can do it,” she said.
Coach Johnson said that although Meraz is a freshman, she competes like she has been wrestling in high school for two or three years.
“Meraz does practice in Center too, when she can’t practice with the Alamosa team. They have done a great job pushing her along. She has a very tall mountain to climb to hit her goals of becoming a 4-time state champion. They are very much obtainable for her, but it’s not going to be easy. Right now, Colorado has top-notch girls in the country. She is right up there with the rest of them, she can definitely compete with all of them,” Johnson said.
Meraz enjoys working hard and competing.
“It’s fun, it’s not all about winning, but I would like to reach my goal, that would make me happy,” she said.
