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LA DAILY NEWS ALL-AREA GIRLS WRESTLING 2023
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
Alex Waitsman, El Camino Real, Sr.
El Camino Real’s Alex Waitsman says she wrestles her best when she’s not thinking. In some matches she can just relax and react, instinctively stringing together moves.
“That’s like the pinnacle when you’re wrestling, if you can wrestle without thinking,” she said. “It’s a sport, but its also an art form. I like when I think for a second and I can kind of be creative in my positions and situations. It’s more like self expression.”
The senior had many matches like that this season, and it led her to become the 116-pound runner-up at the CIF State meet. It’s the farthest any El Camino Real wrestler has gone in the event.
She went 39-4 overall, was the CIF Los Angeles City Section champion in her division and won the Women’s West Coast Tournament of Champions, MVD Classic, Eastside Invitational and Dick Morris Memorial Tournament this season.
El Camino Real wrestler Alex Waitsman made school history at CIF State meet
Her artful wrestling style can be traced back to her jiujitsu training. She’s constantly working during matches in unconventional ways and her time spent running and lifting allows her to push the pace in the final moments.
“(Jiujitsu) is where the weird scrambling feel comes from,” Waitsman said. “People are like, what the hell is that? And it’s like, I don’t know, I just came up with it off the top of my head.”
There are calculated moments, though. This season was spent developing her abilities from the neutral position, hand fighting and footwork as opposed to relying on just her grit and creativity to win matches.
Waitsman, a William Jewell College commit, spent more time watching film of her losses and her teammates’ wins. She also worked with her ECR coach John Terndrup to develop a training and tournament schedule that would allow her to peak when the state tournament came around.
The season’s work helped her to beat a defending state champion in the state semifinals. It was one of those non-thinking matches.
“I was just wrestling. It was amazing and I think I wrestled one of my best matches of the year,” she said. “When I get off the mat and I’m like, I don’t even remember that match, what even happened? That’s when I’m wrestling the best.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
(Weight class, name, school)
101 – Avy Perez, Birmingham, So.
106 – Valeria Leiva, San Fernando, Sr.
111 – Hailee Moreno, San Fernando, Jr.
116 – Alex Waitsman, El Camino Real, Sr.
121 – Skylar Whitley, Harvard-Westlake, Jr.
126 – Alondra Feliciano, San Fernando, Sr.
131 – Angeleen Castaneda, Chatsworth, Fr.
137 – Bella Arredondo, San Fernando, Sr.
143 – Adelaida Fernandez, Birmingham, Fr.
150 – Leslie Acevedo, Birmingham, Jr.
160 – Karissa Aguilar, Granada Hills, So.
189 – Sierra Green, Burroughs, Sr.
235 – Cherish Hall-Taoai, Thousand Oaks, So.
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