Valley girls wrestling makes huge strides in program’s 1st few months of existence

By: Michael Love
Thursday, January 25, 2024 | 9:04 PM

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Arianna Bernard made history Dec. 28 at the Powerade girls wrestling tournament at Canon-McMillan.

She became the first wrestler to represent the newly formed Valley girls program.

“I wrestled at Powerade before, so I knew what to expect,” said Bernard, who wears a brace as part of her ongoing recovery from a dislocated left kneecap suffered in Oct. 2022.

“It was my first tournament in a long time. I was coming off the injury, and I took a break for a while. Coming back was kind of nerve-wracking, but I had a lot of support behind me. My mom and my dad and people from my wrestling club (Namaste) were there.”

Bernard wrestled three times at Canon-McMillan, scoring a pair of pins on the way to a runner-up finish in the 190-pound bracket.

It was a strong showing in what has been a productive first month and a half of existence for a Valley team that became a reality in early December when the school board approved the program.

The first practice was Dec. 10, and Bernard said progress is showing from a youthful group of 16, including 10 freshmen and a baker’s dozen who had no prior wrestling experience.

“I started (wrestling) when I was 7, and there were only boys,” said Bernard, who, along with senior Yasmin Martinez and junior Paula Sanchez, have prior wrestling experience at the youth, junior high or high school level.

“It’s been a long journey to where we are now to have a team of all girls. This is a huge opportunity for us.

“We’re still under the radar, but as we bring home more medals and represent Valley at more events, I think we will gain more respect. A lot of the first-year girls are really showing out. We’ve come so far in just over a month.”

Martinez and Amaya Hayden are the only two seniors this year. They will be celebrated Monday when Valley hosts a dual meet against Southmoreland.

“Amaya is a first-year wrestler, but she has her cousins and nephews who do participate in the youth or middle school programs, so she has been around wrestling,” Valley coach Josue Martinez said.

“Yasmin has been wrestling since she was 9, and she’s done really well in girls youth wrestling and has wrestled at states.”

Valley will host Latrobe next Thursday, and the team hopes to latch on to a few other tournaments before the WPIAL championships Feb. 17.

“Starting late was a factor in getting a schedule put together,” coach Martinez said. “A lot of the teams we reached out to already had a full schedule.”

“(The season) is really flying by. WPIALs will be here in a couple of weeks.”

Yasmin Martinez said it is a lot of fun to be a part of a new program that can keep growing.

“To be one of the leaders, it’s a big responsibility, but I will do what it takes,” said Martinez, who is 8-1 at 100 pounds this season after posting a 6-5 mark in all-girls high school bouts two years ago.

“I was hoping we would get a few girls to come out and wrestle, but I didn’t expect 16. I wish we had the team earlier, but at least I got the chance to be a part of it for one year.”

Coach Martinez said there were originally discussions to co-op with Burrell for this season, but when the Bucs program, which began a few days before Thanksgiving, saw it had more come out than expected, it decided to remain on its own.

“That is when (athletic director Kim) Johnson started moving on to get a team for us,” coach Martinez said. “While that happened, I started talking to the girls who I knew. It started with three, and they passed along the word. It just grew from there. The first practice came, and all of a sudden, we had 16 girls. It was just a great start.”

Sanchez has the most experience in girls high school matches. She is 6-3 this year and is 17-12 over the past three seasons.

“Arianna, Paula and Yasmin were really advocating for the start of a girls team,” coach Martinez said.

Bernard started with the boys team this year, but when the girls team became a reality, she had to declare one or the other.

Valley took third out of nine teams at the Southmoreland tournament Jan. 6. It was the debut for a number of Vikings competitors.

Martinez (100) and Bernard (190) placed first, Sanchez (124) was second, and freshman Zainaya Jones (112), freshman Kiashja Gunn (130) and Hayden (190) took fourth.

Valley suffered a close 36-33 loss to Fox Chapel on Jan. 10 in a match that came down to the last bout. The Vikings rebounded and captured a historic first team victory, 42-25, over Burrell on Jan. 17.

Martinez, Jones, Sanchez, Bernard, Gunn, junior Kadance Fish and freshmen Ariona Lineburg and Lily Kranak earned team points with wins.

“They were all jumping up and down and really excited,” coach Martinez said. “They came together and got the win. We had lost a close one to Fox Chapel, and it was a real heartbreaker for them, but that all changed with Burrell. That was a team win, and it meant so much to the girls. They will always remember that first win.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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