Lady Tigers sign with colleges to continue stellar wrestling careers

Sanchez, who earned a spot in the California State Championships, won her second straight West Yosemite League title this past season and finished sixth in the state. She comes from good stock. Both her brothers, Silverio and Alex, were also Tiger wrestlers.

Sanchez dominated her sport in the pre-season compiling an impressive array of wins that led her to a 26-6 overall mark. What does the talented grappler like about wrestling? “I like that you can always improve. You can never know everything and be perfect at anything.”

The daughter of Elena and Jose Sanchez says of her impending move to Washington: “I’m really nervous,” she said, “because it’s a really big change. I’ll be away from my family and friends, but I still think I’ll do well there.”

It was her two wrestling brothers who sparked her interest in the sport, insisting that if they could do it, so could she. “I started wrestling as a sophomore and I saw my brothers do it, so I just really wanted to follow in their footsteps and do as well as they did.”

Sanchez accepted paid tuition to Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, Washington. Her coach, Armondo Calderon said he expects the talented 108-pound champion to do well. “She says she wants to be an All-American wrestler,” he said. “She can accomplish anything she wants.”

Grays Harbor College is a community college founded in 1930 and sits on a 120-acre campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Andrew Cook is the head wrestling coach of the Chokers.

Clark, a transfer this season from Hanford West also won a WYL championship this year and came within an eyelash of a spot in the state tournament. Clark accepted an offer from Iowa’s Waldorf University, located in Forest City, where she plans to attend in the fall and study criminal justice.

The 143-pound Clark was dominant in the WYL compiling an overall record of 24-6.

“I started as a sophomore and really loved the sport. It was something that really suited my personality and it gave me a positive outlook, and I’m really excited about attending Waldorf.”

Her most meaningful experience as a wrestler was winning the WYL championship her senior year.

Coaching the Waldorf Warriors is Tyreece Guilder in his fourth season as head coach.