Wrestlers of a certain level have a way of having a singular focus. Nothing wavers, deters or shakes them off their goal.

Whether it is a certain number on the scale, hitting so many reps in practice, setting up a fireman’s carry exactly right or heading home with a bracket with their name as only one left after a grueling tournament, there isn't much of a deviation. 

Maricopa senior Kiyah Jeske is no different.

She put herself in position to win a state championship – just like the 11 other Division I titlists crowned on Saturday at Arizona Veteran Memorial Coliseum – but it hit a little snag.

The 126-pounder hasn’t trailed much this year, and falling behind in the state title match was definitely not part of the plan.

And yet that was the case against Sunnyside freshman Riella Garza. After a few crazy scrambles in the first period, Garza secured the first points of the match with a takedown.

Jeske hasn’t been in that position much considering her 42-2 record.

“A switch clicked on,” Jeske said. “It was my last match, and I was going to leave it all out on the mat.”

Including her emotions.

Maricopa's Kiyah Jeske shares a moment with her coaches after winning the 126-pound Division I title on Saturday. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

After pulling off the 8-3 win, she clapped about seven times, took a deep breath and by the team she reached her coaches, the tears wouldn’t stop.

“There’s so much that goes into this,” said Jeske, who finished third last year. “All of those hours. All the losses, the practices. It just all comes out at that point.

“It’s amazing. I can’t wait to drink soda again.”

There are 11 other girls who are going to be able to let loose one way or another now that the season is over. All the training, and singular focus can relent for a little bit while they cherish what it took to reach this point.

Choosing to put in work instead of hanging out, parents spending hours on end at tournaments, and coaches sharpening their competitor's skills.

And it all came together on this night.

The state champions were Desert Ridge’s Rebekah Ponce (100) and Athea Valenzuela (107), Pueblo’s Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith (114), Basha’s Hannah Naccarati-Cholo (120), Jeske (126), Campo Verde’s Rebekah Hodges (132), Sunnyside’s Jaylean Alfaro (138), Casteel’s Miah Johnson (145) and Kaiyah Johnston (152), Centennial’s Chloe Gastrost (165), Liberty’s Faith Stevenson (185) and Cienega’s Daesiah Varner (235).

Sunnyside won the team title with 126 points with Campo Verde second with 114, Desert Ridge third at 91.5, Willow Canyon fourth at 66 and Casteel rounded out the top five with 60 points.

One of the closest matches of the night came at 165 as Gatrost, a junior, won 1-0 over Sunnyside senior Alezandra Robles. After a scoreless first period, Gatrost escaped at 1:28 of the second period.

Robles chose down for the third period and Gatrost rode her out for the entire first period.

"It felt really challenging but I kept hearing the support I had from my coaches and teammates," Gastrost said via text. "This really opened up a whole new world for me. It was never about winning. It was about making myself and my supportive environment around me proud." 

Someone who didn’t have to go a full six minutes – and rarely does – was Naccarati-Cholo. She pinned Apphia Gutierrez in the first period to finish the year at 48-0 for her second state title.

She has cruised to titles in back-to-back years and clearly ahead of just about anyone she steps on the mat with a 106-2 record, but it is clear she won’t let herself plateau.

A singular focus doesn’t allow for it.

“There’s always someone better than me,” she said. “I will never be the best. It keeps driving me until I am. It’s motivation. It keeps wanting to do more and keeps me focused.”  

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