A head-bobbing beat pulses through the headphones. The music drowns out the sound. Alone with just thoughts. Bump bump bump. A rhythm sets the speed for pacing alongside the wrestling mat. Locking in. Sweep single leg, high crotch to a double takedown. Be quick off the whistle. Keep the body moving, keep it warmed up. It’s go time, it’s time to trade out the headphones for head gear. Check in at the scoring table, check. Ankle strap, red or green, check. Shake hands with the ref, check. Shake hands with the opponent, check. The whistle blows, let’s go. 

The girls wrestling program started Fall 2021 and senior Alizae Reveles is the first girl to reach 100 career wins. 

“It feels like I am making history,” Reveles said. “We really just started this program and now we placed second at District as a team. We got second at State Duals, behind Dumas, a really good team that has been around forever. I feel like we are overcoming a lot of doubt because people did not think Canyon would be any good.”

Every team member is paired with someone, a practice partner, a weight class above or below the wrestler. Wrestlers spend a lot of time with that person and building tight bonds, learning new takedowns and new limits to how far to push their body.

“My practice partner for two years was Hope Gleghorn [2024 graduate] and she was the best person I ever wrestled,” Reveles said. “She would always actively watch my matches and make sure I worked on the things I did badly. We would get recognized for being the fastest drillers because she was holding me accountable.”

Reveles, Aubrey Ramos and Raleigh Blankenship will be the first seniors to have participated in the girls wrestling program for all four years.

“Alizae is really mentally strong,” sophomore Crickette Morris said. “I look up to her a lot because I just randomly joined, and she is always a good role model.”

Tyler Frausto, girls wrestling coach said he quickly saw her potential and knew she would be an asset to the program. She is an inclusive individual that is nice to everyone and a good role model. 

“I could tell she was a good athlete, but wrestling is a sport of repetition so of course it took some time for her to come into her own,” Frausto said. “Athletically Alizae has always had the potential to be great, while we did push her on the mat, we had to push her to develop a mentality to dominate whoever shows up on the mat with her.”

 Frausto added that over the past eight years the wrestling program has grown to as many as 100 students in the high school wrestling program in a single year. The boys compete in one of 14 weight classes and girls can compete in one of 12 weight classes. 

“Since starting Canyon Wrestling we have gained a girls program and a junior high program that helps our kids develop starting at a younger age,” Frausto said. “Our athletes have seen some success and it just made them hungry for more. We definitely have more goals and plans for the future to keep getting better but it all comes back to our wrestlers that are willing to put in the work and stay hungry for more.”

What started out as an email of interest from Coach Frausto before her freshman year turned into a passion for Reveles. She said she never stopped, never gave up and fell in love with wrestling. 

“When I wrestle, I feel like I am unstoppable,” Reveles said. “In practice, I know I have to work on things, and I actively make notes of what I can do better. When I step onto a tournament mat there is a lot of pressure behind it because you know you have to perform well for your team and coaches, but I just feel happy and excited.”

Closing out her senior year, Reveles completed her wrestling career at the 5A Region 1 tournament with a career record of 106-58.