New La Mirada Girls Wrestling coach intent on building program
La Mirada girls wrestling head coach Breanna Sanchez, right, with her team, from left, Natalie Perkins, Abby Diaz and Andrea Dawson after winning their match against Bellflower on Tuesday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
LA MIRADA – With girls wrestling growing by leaps and bounds over the last few years, a young program at La Mirada High School just got a whole lot better this past Fall.
The girls program was actually started in 2018, but the numbers haven’t been what is needed to fill a complete team yet.
That may all change with the hiring of Breanna Sanchez this last September.
“I think it’s really important, especially (me) being a female, with the boys separated from the girls and that they are being recognized for the sport that they love,” Sanchez said. “I look forward to bettering my girls and kind of having them from the foundation up and just making them stars.
“It (coaching) was something that was never in my plans, but once I had the opportunity in front of me, it was a no-brainer to spread my knowledge and to continue all the positive things that coaches gave to me.”
Sanchez, who was a former wrestler herself, knew how important it was to pass on what she learned in the sport.
“To be able to give that back, I think that’s something that’s important to carry on in the sport, especially with girls,” she added. “There’s a lot of girls that look up only to guys in their sport, but a female that has done it is a different type of inspiration that you get.
“Building here at La Mirada next year I look forward to having a more structured year. I will be having recruiting, tryouts, summer practices and all that stuff I wasn’t able to do this year. It will be a lot better with more sense of community and team for the girls and preparation.”
Girls wrestling is still virtually in its infancy, as it has only been a CIF competitive sport since 2013. At the collegiate level, community colleges in California will begin their initial competition this Spring.
“Recently we added Breanna Sanchez to the La Mirada Wrestling staff and we couldn’t be happier,” La Mirada Athletic Director Christine Mead said. “Breanna started in September and has been an amazing inspiration to our girls. She brings knowledge and a fresh energy to our girls wrestling program.
“I think Breanna brings a different style of coaching to the girls program, being that she once was a competitive wrestler herself. She has made some amazing connections with the girls, and I believe the girls respect her because she was once in their place.
“I appreciate all her dedication and sacrifice to our growing program. We are excited to see what Breanna will be able to do with our girls for seasons to come.”
Sanchez, 20, is a graduate of John Glenn in Norwalk and wrestled varsity for all four years.
While at Glenn, Sanchez was a 605 League champion at 160 lbs. and was part of the team that won three league titles. She also qualified for CIF Masters three times and in her senior year she qualified for CIF State up in Bakersfield.
Sanchez is one of five wrestlers at Glenn that has qualified for state.
After graduating from Glenn, Sanchez received an athletic scholarship for the women’s wrestling team to Eastern Oregon University, which is NCAA DII.
However, due to the pandemic, the 2020 season never materialized and she eventually came back home.
Sanchez got the opportunity at La Mirada through her coaching young wrestlers at The Dog Pound Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness in Norwalk. They host boxing, kickboxing, jiujitsu, wrestling and judo. They also have bootcamps and weightlifting and there are programs for kids and adults.
Glenn athletic director, Linda Parra, reached out to her girls wrestling coach, Hector Ramirez, inquiring if he knew of any possible former wrestlers who would be interested in coaching at La Mirada.
Ramirez, who is owner of The Dog Pound in Norwalk, recommended Sanchez and she was hired last Fall.
“Breanna wrestled at 189, 170 and 160 lbs. throughout the years (at Glenn),” Ramirez said. “Breanna was a hard worker and always pushed herself to improve. She was a great leader and an awesome person. It was great to see her get an opportunity to coach at La Mirada. She will bring great leadership and build many champions.”
Sanchez actually started out as a boxer at The Dog Pound at the age of 12, but that all changed on one suggestion by her dad Cesar Sanchez.
“‘We need to keep talking about it (wrestling)’”, remembers Breanna Sanchez, about her dad telling her about the sport of wrestling. “The next day (at the Dog Pound) I saw a girl on the mat and remember saying, ‘There’s girls that wrestle?’”.
And that was the beginning of her wrestling career.
As for the current team, they only have three wrestlers, but have competed in the Millikan, Santa Ana and San Dimas invitationals this season.
Andrea Dawson – The senior, who has been on the team all four years, wrestles in the 143 Lb. weight class. Dawson qualified for the CIF Individuals last season and finished with a 2-2 record in the 160 Lb. weight class.
Natalie Perkins – She is a sophomore and wrestles in the 101 Lb. weight class. In the three tournaments so far this season she placed fifth in the Millikan Invitational and seventh place in both the Santa Ana and San Dimas Invitationals.
Last season she also qualified for the CIF Individuals and finished with a 1-2 record.
Abby Diaz, a freshman, is wrestling in the 150 Lb. weight class, and she placed at Millikan.
Last Tuesday (January 17), the La Mirada girls and boys wrestling team took on Bellflower in a Gateway League dual match.
The girls had only one wrestler (Perkins, 101 Lbs.) compete, as Bellflower didn’t have any girls to compete in either the 143 or 150-pound weight class, so Dawson and Diaz sat out.
Perkins pinned her opponent in the first period in just 28 seconds.
“It was a pretty quick match,” Perkins said. “I just took a shot and happened to get the half and pin. I was in a very low stance, and I was able to snap her down.”
The current La Mirada Boys Wrestling coach, David Ostendi, who has led the boys team since 2008, has helped coach the girls the year after they were formed as a team in 2018 by another coach.
Now that they have officially, again, separated themselves from the boys, Ostendi had great things to say about Sanchez.
“She is doing a great job and with her being present as the girls coach it will proceed,” he said. “Keep persevering and good things will come.”
The final league dual takes place next Tuesday (Jan. 24) at La Mirada against Gahr.
Highlighting the 2021 girls team, five wrestlers qualified for the CIF Individuals, as senior Avian Nieva won her final match in the 170 Lb. weight class to place seventh. Nieva had a 3-1 record at the individuals, which included three pins.
Two other wrestlers also qualified for the individuals - Samantha Chavez, 111 Lbs. (1-2) and Madison Elizondo, 137 Lbs. (0-2).
The team finished 36th out of 61 schools in the Central Division.
LM Boys defeat Bellflower, 65-18
There was actually only six matches against Bellflower, but LM gained a good portion of the points on forfeits.
On the boys side, they were led by Cenjamin Castillo (170) and Derek Martinez (220), each with pins, along with a win by Joshua Galindo (285).
Ostendi’s top two wrestlers in the team are Christian Gijon with a season record of 25-6 and Anthony Mason (23-7), who was a CIF placer last year.
The boys, ranked No. 6 in CIF Division 6, are 2-0 in the Gateway League with wins over Dominguez (64-15) and Bellflower and with the final dual against Gahr.
This weekend the boys will wrestle in the Laguna Hills High School Invitationals.
What they said:
Andrea Dawson, senior wrestler: “Wrestling here promotes discipline. To be in wrestling you have to have a certain GPA to compete, and it helps you to stay on top of your classwork.
I was severely overweight when I first started. I first started and I weighed 180 pounds and it helped me reach a goal weight, which is 143. My potential goal weight to reach is 139. So, that’s helping me get closer and closer every day.
I never had a girl coach before. It’s interesting. It’s more ideal, honestly. She understands the way girls wrestle more than a guy coach would, because she’s wrestled before as well. I look forward to graduating and I want to become a marine biologist.”
Natalie Perkins, sophomore wrestler: “I love wrestling at La Mirada. It makes me happy. I always have something to do and a practice to go to. I’m never bored.”
Abby Diaz, freshman wrestler: “It’s nice, it’s fun, it’s an experience. This is my first coach since I’m a freshman. I look forward to getting to know everyone and getting better at the sport.
My older brother wrestled here when he was in high school, and I enjoyed watching him and that got me wanting to start here.”