The Olmos sisters both placed second in their weight classes in the CCS finals on February 7-8, a great accomplishment. However, both Serena and Haven Olmos were pretty bummed about not placing first.

“It’s a good goal, but I wanted to place first to get my name on a banner,” says freshman Haven Olmos.

“It broke my heart placing second; I wanted to win so badly. I was hoping to end my senior year with my name on a banner again,” says senior Serena Olmos. Serena is hopeful to place first in the upcoming state championships.

A lot of people underestimate the Olmos sisters due to the fact that they are female wrestlers, but they prove all the spectators wrong when they dominate on the mat. Wrestling runs in the Olmos family– their brother, junior Ryan Olmos, and older sister Michelle Olmos, who won the CCS Championship in 2011, also participated in the sport.

Before every match, Haven gets a little nervous but she continuously tells herself, “give it your all, you can do this.” Haven says she gets a lot of respect for being a girl wrestler. She prepares for each match by warming up with her older sister who is also her team captain.

The boys on the other team underestimate them, but both girls get a lot of respect from their teammates. “The boys on our team are very supportive and encouraging,” says Serena.

The first thought that runs through Serena’s mind before a match is food, and also trying to prove everyone wrong. “People judge on appearance, I just show everyone what I got,” says Serena. Serena has a routine before every match– she zones everyone and everything out and gets her mind focused. Most importantly, she prays before every match.

After High School, Serena wants to keep wrestling and hopes to be a coach for preferably a girls’ team. “I think I can encourage the girls more if I were coaching them. Most girls are scared to wrestle because they are put up against boys, but it’s not the WWE,” Serena states.

Lion Tales congratulates the Olmos sisters for their dedication to the sport of wrestling. We wish them luck in the upcoming State Championship. Go Lions!