The roar of the crowd was only the beginning for Riella Garza.

The Sunnyside freshman 126-pound wrestler secured a last second takedown on a double leg to send her match with nemesis and top-seeded Airyka Reyes of Willow Canyon into overtime tied at 10.

The Sunnyside fans section went nuts and the PA announcer at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum called attention to the barnburner happening on Mat 3 as it went into sudden death.

After a scoreless 1-minute period on their feet, Reyes went to work in the second overtime, and she put Reyes on her back twice before getting the pin.

“All I ever wanted to be was a freshman state champ and now I have a chance to complete that goal,” said Garza, who improved to 50-6. “I felt I had it after that (the takedown). I lost to her so many times (three times) and this was a comeback that I needed to get what I want.”

Garza’s win was the epitome of the semifinal round for the Division I and Division II girls state semifinals on Friday night.

There was intensity, a sheer will to overcome and huge smile after pulling off one of the biggest wins of the season.

The championship quest for 48 wrestlers – 24 in each division – continues Saturday with the 4:30 p.m. finals at the Madhouse on McDowell.

When action resumes on Saturday morning Sunnyside is in the lead in Division I with 97 points, while Campo Verde is second with 94. Desert Ridge, Canyon View, and Centennial round out the top five with 60.5, 52, and 51 points, respectively.

In Division II, Crismon leads with 124 points, while Yuma Catholic at 62.5 and Somerton at 61.5 are in a close race for second and third. Morenci is fourth with 47 points and Poston Butte is fifth with 43.5.

Another impressive performance came from Desert Ridge’s Rebekah Ponce at 100 pounds in Division I.

She improved to 59-1 on the season by using several cradles to crank out a 17-0 technical final in 3 minutes and 28 seconds over Campo Verde’s Katie McCann.

Desert Ridge's Rebekah Ponce  (behind) had two pins and technical fall to make the 100-pound championship match. (Jason P. Skoda/AZPreps365)

Ponce broke through a bit of a barrier by making the championship after finishing in sixth place the previous two years.

“This my first year of really figuring it all out,” she said. “I am going to show what I worked so hard for. I really did not want to take sixth again knowing my heart broke so many times because I could have done more. I never wrestled in the offseason until this year, and it made all of the difference.

“My heart is so happy.”

Ponce, who faces Perry’s Addison Palmer in the finals, started with a different combats sport a few years ago and it helped her acclimate to wrestling quickly.

“I started ju-jitsu in seventh grade,” she said. “Originally, I was going to wrestle to help out my ju-jitsu, but I like wrestling way more now. (Ju-jitsu)  helped me understand applying pressure and body position right away.”

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