Girls Wrestling Dream Team: Ophelia Lara, Wrestler of the Year

Wrestler of the Year: Ophelia Lara, Gahr

After qualifying for the State Championship Touament three years ago as a freshman, finishing fourth as sophomore and second as a junior with her only loss in a 39-1 season coming in the state final, Lara made the final jump to perfection as a senior in 2016.

She tued in an unblemished 50-0 record en route to capturing a state title at 150 pounds. Also, she was named the Upperweight MVP at the CIF Southe Section Championships after four pinfalls and one decision.

“I feel like I progressed a lot, not just physically with my wrestling, but mentally as well,” Lara said. “I’ve come a long way with that and I have my coaches and family to thank. Losing in the finals last year really hurt. It gave me more drive to work this year. I did anything I could to get that title this year.”

Gahr coach Richard Carbajal credited Lara for her work ethic and said her 50-0 performance was unbelievable and astounding to watch as it unfolded.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is it’s just astonishing to go 50-0 on any level,” he said. “I’ve rarely been around anybody who works as hard as she does. It surprises me, but at the same time it doesn’t.

“She came in with a little bit of a wrestling background, but she still had some growing to do. Everything has been a progression,” the coach added.

Lara said she is grateful for the experience over the past four years and actually found the hours and hours of training to be the most rewarding element.

She said her fondest memories were “probably everybody I met a long the way. I was able to meet Olympic coaches and train with some of the best women wrestlers in the world. I don’t think that the wins were the biggest part, it was all the training. It paid off.”

Coach of the Year: Javier Martinez, Paramount

Martinez led the Pirates to the top team finish of all area competitors at the CIF State Championship Meet with 28.0 points, good for 25th place out of 62.

With two league champions and a third-place State finisher in Chazel Becerra on the squad, the coach is proud of the way the team has grown and would like to see more of the same throughout the area.

“More opportunity,” Martinez said. “That would make the whole sport grow even more.”

Martinez said a major bright spot was Becerra’s finish to her senior season, and also thanked the administration at Paramount for giving the sport a chance as the program has been built up over the last few years.

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First Team:

Sierra Adams-Gregory, Lakewood

Stephany Arriaga, Millikan

Chazel Becerra, Paramount

Berenice Espino, Millikan

Juee Frazier, Poly

Shanayle Gonzales, Millikan

Saira Labrium, Cerritos

Sofia Perez, Millikan

Surjopolis Priscilla, Gahr

Janet Quintero, Millikan

Honorable Mention:

Nilda Andraska (Los Alamitos), Kimberlin Banegas (Millikan), Claudia Garcia (Paramount), Katherine Gonzales (Millikan), Ashly Gonzalez (Paramount), Gloria Gonzalez (Paramount), Isabel Gonzalez (Millikan), Sara Gusman (Jordan), Jasmine Leigh (Gahr), Ashley Martinez (Paramount), Lizbeth Sugia (Paramount).