John Glenn High School’s Aaliah Enriquez wins 189 Lb. CIF Wrestling Individual Championship
John Glenn's Aaliah Enriquez, center, CIF Wrestling Champion, stands with the boys and girls teams who won their league and also competed in the CIF Wrestling Championships. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
NORWALK – Sophomore Aaliah Enriquez has joined two big lists after she won a CIF Individual Girls Wrestling title in double overtime in the Southern Division at 189 lbs. recently.
First, it’s only the second time in John Glenn High School’s short girls wrestling history that a girl has won a CIF Individual Championship. She joins a list of two now. Nicole Demasi won a title in 2019 in the 121 lb. weight class.
“We are so proud of Aaliah,” said Monico Enriquez, who is her father and also coach of the Glenn Boys Wrestling team “She worked so hard in such a short period of time. Her goal was to be a CIF Champion. Coach (Hector) Ramirez and his staff did an amazing job in getting her to that level. We were very happy, emotionally and for it to happen in her sophomore year caught us a little off guard.”
Enriquez didn’t get to see his daughter win in person, as he was at Capistrano Valley coaching the boys in CIF. However, some of the parents had it live on the internet, and we were watching.
“When we heard the whistle to win in overtime and for her to win, I was celebrating in the parking lot,” said Monico, who knew the feeling as he won a title himself when he was in high school at Glenn.
The second is a personal list which could be a CIF record for one family. She is the fifth Enriquez to hold that coveted title. It all started with her uncle Juan Enriquez in 1989. Juan’s brother and Aaliah’s father Monico Enriquez, won in 1995.
That was followed by another uncle, Adrian Enriquez in 2000, and finally a cousin Juan Enriquez in 2007.
“I’m very proud of myself,” said Aaliah Enriquez, who won the title at Corona High and qualified for the Masters. “It took a lot of hard work. My teammates and coaches pushed me to do better. My toughest match was my last one (Championship match) because I was tired but I put in my all.
“I ended up winning and I was in shock and I was very happy. It just didn’t seem real to me. My family was very happy for me. I actually didn’t know that they (father, uncles and cousin) were CIF Champions until afterwards. That was pretty cool. We all celebrated that.”
Enriquez finished with a perfect 4-0 record in the championships, winning in dramatic fashion, 8-7, in double overtime against Lauren Malvitz of Claremont High.
“Her championship match was one for the record books,” Ramirez said. “It was one of my more memorable matches to ever watch. It was meant to be.”
To add to the drama of the second to last match of the championships was the power going out in the middle of the match in overtime. After five minutes had elapsed, it continued.
“She was getting very tired, and the delay helped her,” he added. “She found a way to win.”
Enriquez was winning in the third period of regulation, but was called for stalling and the match was even after the penalties.
In the first 30 second OT, Malvitz escaped to take a 7-6 lead. Trailing in the second OT by a point with 15 seconds left, Enriquez pulled a two-point reversal and held on for the 8-7 win.
“The house went wild,” explained Ramirez, who was a CIF Champion himself. “It was exciting and the whole place was watching. She was my youngest CIF Champion.”
The No. 3 Seed Enriquez received a bye in the first round.
In her three previous matches to the finals, was a second-round pin in 1:30 of the first period. In the quarterfinals she won a tough, 7-5 decision, followed by a 5-4 win in the semifinals.
Enriquez told her coach after the match, “’I prayed so hard to win that match,’” she said.
Here are some of Enriquez’ season accomplishments: Record – 25-13, 605 League Champion and MVP.
Tournament results: Norwalk Duals, 2nd; Santa Ana Lady Saints, 5th; Millikan “Shoot for the Moon”, 1st; Black Watch Individuals, 4th; San Dimas, 4th; Dick Morris Memorial, 4th and Lady Eagles Individuals, 3rd.
Aaliah’s CIF title is only the tip of the iceberg for the Eagles Wrestling program this season.
Girls Wrestling Season 2022-‘23
The JG Girls Wrestling program is the five-time 605 League Champions and has produced five state qualifiers over the years - Devin Gomez, Sophia Estrada, Nicole DeMasi, Breanna Sanchez and Mia Ramirez.
“This years’ team captains were led by Ramirez with a record of 18-4, Andrea Urena (13-13) and Trinity Escobar (13-10),” said Ramirez, who has been the coach for six years. “This was a great season. It was a rough start. I didn’t know who was going to be on the team, but eventually we got the team going. The girls found a way to become league champions. Our wrestling here at John Glenn has always been successful. We have consecutive championships for the boys, but coming from the boys program, it’s important to keep that tradition for the girls.”
The team finished with a team record of 8-2 and had three league champions. They were Aaliah Enriquez, Nikita Duran, and Andrea Urena.
The team qualified for the CIF Dual Championships but lost to Marina HS in the first round.
“We are losing three seniors this year – Urena, Ramirez and Escobar,” Ramirez said. “I am looking forward to next years’ season.”
Helping coach Hector Ramirez is his assistants, Jose Rodriguez and Hector Ramirez.
JG Boys win six individual league titles
The boys team advanced to the CIF Division 6 Duals Semifinals. With an 11-5 overall record, they defeated Orange, 74-6, in the first round and La Mirada, 53-25, in the second round. They lost to Schurr, 45-30 in the semifinals.
“The boys wrestling team endured some adversity early in the year, losing a few guys to injuries and came back to finish strong,” Monico Enriquez said. “We had great leadership in Emmanuel (AJ) Enriquez and Jacob Enriquez as our team captains.
“We had team unity and they bonded real well. It was a pretty successful season overall.”
In addition, the boys had six 605 League Individual Champions.
The program has had 10 CIF Individual Champions over the years and four CIF Dual Champions.
Highlights:
113 lbs. – AJ Enriquez, sophomore – (20-11) 605 League Champion; ASICS Santa Ana Tournament, 6th place; John Glenn Juan Enriquez Memorial Individuals, 7th place; Western Individuals, 4th.
126 lbs. – Jacob Enriquez, sophomore – (31-7) 605 League Champion; San Clemente; 2nd place; ASICS Santa Ana Tournament, 4th place; John Glenn Juan Enriquez Memorial Tournament, 2nd place; Western Individuals, 3rd place; CIF Individuals, 5th place; CIF Masters, qualifier.
138 lbs. - Daniel Altamirano, senior – (20-10) 605 League Champion; Western Ind., 6th place; 2022 CIF 8th Place.
160 lbs. - Alex Valdez, senior – 605 League Champion
170 lbs. - Joseph Salas, junior - 605 League Champion
195 lbs. - Ruben Gracian, sophomore – (18-6) 605 League Champion; Upper weight League MVP; ASICS Santa Ana, 4th; JG Juan Enriquez Memorial, 3rd; Western Ind., 4th; Laguna Hills, 5th; CIF, 7th.
What they said:
Trinity Escobar, 131 lb. weight class, senior: “Honestly, I think we all did really well. The newer girls have a lot of potential to be really good. They really put in a lot of effort this year. The key to my season was commitment and discipline.
It was my last year and I put everything I had into it.”
Andrea Urena, 111 lb., senior: “I think I did all right this season. I did pretty good in league. I was league champ. I didn’t know about the other schools, but I knew I just had to work harder than they did.”
Mia Ramirez, 116 lb., senior: “It’s great being part of this team. We’re five-time league champs and it’s good to hold that record for a long time.
We all help each other out. I didn’t get to wrestle this year because I got injured, but I will wrestle in college.”
Ruben Gracian, 195 lb., sophomore: “It took a lot of training, working out three times a day, eating the right food and of course listening to my coaches. I’m glad that I became a league champ.
The most difficult times were wrestling the kids that were ranked from the top 20 and above. Those were the most challenging matches that I’ve had. It felt exciting to win league and all the hard work paid off.
The season went really well. We are all like family and bonded real well. That bond that we had is what helped us become good because we listened to one another.”
Jacob Enriquez, 126 lbs., sophomore: “I placed fifth in CIF and that was one of my huge goals. After that I qualified for Masters. Winning league was one of my goals. I beat Cerritos for first.
The competition was easier this year than last year because I got better.”
John Glenn notes:
Eagles senior football player Mikel Udengwu has committed to play at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Senior basketball guard Michael Saucedo (Captain) was recently named 605 League Co-MVP.