Courtesy of coach Kevin Pine
Members of the Nevada girls wrestling team pose at the Cadet/Junior National Championships, which were held from July 14-20, 2017 in Fargo, North Dakota. They include, from left, Nora Ochoa, Emma Justo, Tatum Pine, Jenavi Alejandro, Kamilla Montenegro, Sterling Dias, Tehani Suares, Mariah Ortiz, Peyton Prussin.
Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018 | 2 a.m.
Despite girls wrestling not being recognized as an official high school sport in Nevada, the state’s national team is making waves around the country.
Nevada sent 10 wrestlers last month to the USA Championship in Fargo, N.D., where Sterling Dias won the 94-pound Cadet Women’s event and was named Outstanding Wrestler of her division.
It’s the most wrestlers Nevada has sent to the national championship and continues what has been a benchmark year for the sport in the state.
“This year has been fun,” Nevada coach Kevin Pine said. “Two years ago we had zero placers in the event, and we’ve come a long way. Nevada is fledgling in girls wrestling.”
There are nine states thanks sanction girls wrestling as an official high school sport, but Nevada isn’t one of them. Here, girls compete against the boys. Arbor View’s Peyton Prussin, who last winter became the first girl to qualify for the state tournament, finished second in Fargo at 112 pounds.
“The end goal is to get the NIAA to recognize girls wrestling as an individual sport,” Pine said. “We already have wrestling, but we would like to add another division for the girls so they have their own platform to compete.”
Dias, who will be a freshman at SLAM Academy in Las Vegas this year, is the first Nevada girls national champion, Pine said. She also won the bronze medal this summer at the Cadet World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
“She’s probably one of the quickest athletes I’ve ever seen,” Pine said. “She’s been doing jiu-jitsu for years. She’s just a great kid and has a great work ethic — everything you could ask for in a wrestler.”
As the sport grows in Nevada, more girls will begin making an impact at the collegiate level. There are currently three from Nevada competing in college — Leiana Nacapuy (Rancho) at Oklahoma City University, Allison Petix (Bishop Gorman) at King University in Tennessee, and Megan Gonzalez (Bonanza) at Grays Harbor College in Washington state. Both Nacapuy and Petix earned All-American honors at the National Women’s College Championships last season.
“These girls have the will to win,” Pine said. “It doesn’t matter what the score is, they just keep going until they get their opponent to the mat.”
Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.
