|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
For the second time in five years, the Menlo College women’s wrestling team members are national champions. The team won the 2024 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women’s Wrestling Championship, hosted by the University of Jamestown at North Dakota, on March 9.
Fifth-year senior Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson claimed her first individual national championship, according to a town of Atherton press release (the town passed a proclamation honoring the team during an April 17 meeting). With an undefeated 24-0 record, she now completes her Oak career as a five-time All-American. The women’s team won its national championship in 2019.
“The onset of the pandemic delayed their return to the national stage, but they returned in style this year, once again securing the national championship title,” said Menlo College President Steven Weiner in an email. “They made their potential apparent early this season with a string of successes that propelled them to a first-place finish at the conference championship in early March, and later that same month, to the national championship. For the heart and talent they commit to their sport, my admiration and appreciation goes to every member of the Menlo College team, including our incredibly talented coaching and sports performance staff. I credit each and every one of them for the success of our program.”
The team has 36 members. Of these, the 12 best athletes qualified to compete at the national championship.
“It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt,” said Michael Ayala, head coach of the women’s wrestling team at Menlo College. “I’m not egotistical at all but when you go out there as a unit, as a college, and you’re number one, it’s like — ‘Wow we’re the best.’ I knew when I recruited this freshman class that they could be special.”
He attributes this victory to the culture of Menlo College and the spirit of the town it’s housed in.
“The athletes can only be as good as the environment around them,” Ayala said. “In Menlo College and in Atherton, it’s such a phenomenal community, they can be the best version of themselves; they love the area, they’re at peace when they’re walking around.”
Ayala was also named NAIA Coach of the Year.
“This year I really felt confident as a leader, with the way I structured the program,” he said. This is, in fact, his first year as head coach at Menlo. “I get a lot of support on campus.”
Ayala has an academic background in clinical mental health counseling. His job as head coach is not just about teaching the technicalities of wrestling; in equal measure, it’s about understanding the psychology of his athletes.
“It’s honestly about female empowerment and women empowerment, and teaching confidence. People don’t understand how far that goes,” he said. “A lot of my girls haven’t been coached the way I was coached; they never had someone hold them to the standard that I do. I just don’t feel like they’ve been introduced to sports the way that maybe a male counterpart may have.”
In the days leading up to the tournament, the team was doing around eight hours of wrestling a week in addition to four hours of strength and conditioning. A lot of them were also doing extra exercises, like cardio, to keep their weight under control, their coach said.
In the coming months, Ayala has his sights set firmly on the next big challenge — the wrestling tournament organized by the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association).
“This was our last year wrestling in the NAIA,” he said.
The captain of the winning team is similarly focused on the next big milestone. “I feel great we accomplished something huge but we’re just on to the next thing,” said Ajayzee Zaballos. “We’re transitioning to division two and that’s a whole beast of its own. So we’re celebrating our win, using that to boost ourselves, and moving on.”
The girls on the team are between 17 and 22 years of age.
“We’re such a young team. There’s only two juniors, we have a few seniors that are graduating, but most of our team are freshmen and sophomores,” said Zaballos, who turns 21 this year.
Last year, the team finished fourth at this tournament. Winning the national title this year has been a great leap. “We didn’t let our place last year affect us,” she said. “We had a lot of pressure this year.” The pressure was partly because at the ranking stage, they were neck and neck with the team at Life University.
Zaballos, who used to do jujitsu as a child, began her journey with wrestling during freshman year at high school, after her father urged her to try it out. She’s glad she did because wrestling has taught her a lot of life lessons she said. According to her it was the team’s core value of family that helped them stick together, bond with one another and win the title.
“I view all the girls on my team as my sisters. Not leaving each other behind — academically, athletically and personally — for independent goals … that had a huge impact,” she said. “My coach told the team to enjoy the process without being fixated on the result.”
