February 2nd and 3rd, Lincoln High School’s girls wrestling team showcased their best wrestling at the Central Coast Section Tournament at Overfelt High School in San Jose. The CCS tournament is a two-day tournament where the top three qualifiers each weight class will advance to the CIF State Meet hosted in Visalia, CA. With around 300+ girls registered, Lincoln brought eight of our toughest competitors: Kaitlyn Scadina, Ellie Guentert, Mia Olmos, Julianna Moreno, Maria White, Eleni Fakaosi, Kaelin Romero, and Sosefina Nawaikula.

After a long year of hard work, and early tournaments every weekend, the girls were put to the ultimate test of becoming CCS champions. With preparation and determination, six of the eight girls advanced on to day two of wrestling. Many girls from other schools were forced to go home after our girls’ team wiped through the brackets to the medal rounds.

Julianna Moreno had her first debut at the girls CCS tournament this year after returning from an injury that ended her season last year. Coming into the tournament with an impressive 20-9 record, Julianna wrestled back to earn a spot on the podium as a 6th place medalist.

Sosefina Nawaikula also had the chance to experience CCS for the first time. Being the youngest on the team, Sosefina battled hard to earn a 4th place medal.

Eleni Fakaosi is no beginner when it comes to wrestling. Eleni has been doing judo since she was younger and wrestling in middle school. On the wrestle back for third place, Eleni earned a ticket to the state meet winning 7-1 over an opponent from Half Moon Bay to earn 3rd place in the Central Coast Section.

Towards the end of the evening, the gym was cleared to set up the final matches. A single mat on the gym floor with a glorious spotlight shining down upon it, the stage was set for our CCS finalist Mia Olmos. As the stands filled up, the finalists were introduced to the crowd. Mia Olmos is a returning CCS Champion with a current record of 28-4. On the other side of the mat is her opponent from Menlo Atherton High School, Evelyn Calhoon. Mia is coached by her two sisters Haven and Michelle Olmos.

The match began with a 0-0 score the entire first period. Both wrestlers were pushing back and forth trying to get angles for good takedowns. The second period starts with two minutes on the clock, and Mia immediately hustled to score the first point on the board with an escape off bottom making the match 1-0.

Shortly after scoring, Mia capitalized on Evelyn’s mistake and scored a 2 point takedown. Evelyn countered quickly to score a 2 point reversal on Mia. The score was now 3-2 in favor of Mia Olmos. With only two more minutes left on the clock in the third and final period, Mia had to hold down her opponent to win a CCS title. In the last 20 seconds, Mia’s opponent put herself in a position that looked as though she scored on Mia.

The buzzer sounded and everyone thought Mia was defeated. Not quite. Coach Michelle Olmos decided to challenge the referees call. The referee discussed the challenge with the second referee and the call was overturned! Mia Olmos stands with a 3-2 victory over her opponent and is still a Central Coast Section Champion. The crowd is mixed with emotions, but our school stands proud. Lincoln High Schools Girls Wrestling team finished with four placers, two state qualifiers, and overall 6th as a team in the Section.

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On February 2nd and 3rd, the Lincoln girls wrestling team participated in the CCS tournament.

A few days after, we interviewed both the winning girls and Coach Michelle Olmos. She said that she was,”Happy, [since] it’s the best my team’s done ever since I was in high school. We’ve had the most CCS placers this year, with four placing instead of just one or two.” When asked what she would say to girls looking at joining the wrestling team, she said “I suggest it, I think that wrestling is one of the best sports that Lincoln has to offer. Totally opinionated, but I think that there is a lot to accomplish with it. Now is a perfect opportunity to step into a sport like this.”

Eleni Fakaosi felt proud of her accomplishments. “It was amazing,” she said, “I appreciate all the hard work that Michelle has put in for me to make it on to the podium and it is definitely an improvement from last year.” She also said that her success made her feel “more confident in my abilities, and since I didn’t have to cut weight, I felt more energized and less tired.”

Julianna Moreno, who missed the last CCS tournament due to an ankle injury was very happy to compete in the tournament. “I loved it,” she said, “I thought CCS was pretty gnarly. I won my first two matches in the beginning and winning just fills you with a lot of confidence. I definitely felt stronger this season compared to last season because I have more experience and more knowledge and it makes me feel like I came out stronger this year.” Although Julianna calls wrestling “a hard-core sport,” she encourages all interested to participate. “You definitely have to be dedicated,” she said, “and it is super fun when you get into it.”

Sosefina Nawaikula, a freshman, is best described as a hardcore fighter. Her experience as a freshman gives her confidence for next year. “[Competing as a freshman] felt good because I know that I have a good grasp of what to do, and now I have 3 more years to grow in strength and knowledge.” Ms. Nawaikula was the only freshman competing at the 235lb. weight class. At first, she “was nervous, but my Coach, Michelle, helped me take advantage of it. It did make me nervous since I knew less and have less experience. However, knowing that I wasn’t the only beginner gave me an ounce of confidence.”

Mia Olmos, having won back to back CCS Championships in her weight class, felt determined this year to continue her success.  “I wanted to get through day one and I knew that I could get a pin quickly if I went for the win with no hesitation.” Her preparation paid off, she pinned her first three competitors in the first minute of competition.

Having won CCS again, Mia reflected on her success. “It felt amazing, and I’m just grateful that I had such smart coaches to make that winning call for me.” Lion Tales asked her about the close call that ultimately won her the match and she said that “I never know how close a match will be, I was just focused on scoring as many points as I could and trying to get that pin whenever I found a possible opportunity.”

Both Eleni and Mia participated in the State Meet, February 23-24 in Visalia, CA. Mia won her first match and lost her second match. Eleni did not advance past the first round, but gained valuable experience. Good job ladies from all of us at Lion Tales!