On February 18th, 18-year-old Audrey Jimenez from Sunnyside High School made history, becoming the first female in Arizona to ever win a high school state wrestling title in competition with boys.
To win her championship title, Jimenez had to beat 4 male opponents. She ended up going against Carson Miles in her final championship match and ended up beating him 7-5, securing her spot as state champion.
“It’s an incredible accomplishment, considering all the adversity she has overcome,” said Jimenez’s coach Anthony Leon. “I am grateful for having witnessed it in the best seat in the house.”
She won the state title when competing in the girls division her first 3 years of high school, and ended up switching to the boys division her senior year. Not only did she win the Division 1 title, but she also made history for being the first female to win 4 state wrestling championships.
“Ever since girls’ high school wrestling was sanctioned my freshman year, I haven’t been allowed to wrestle boys at state. I’ve been able to wrestle boys through the entire high school season except for sectionals and state,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez was born and raised in Tucson Arizona. She has been wrestling for most of her life, and has been competing at a high level for quite some time. She finished first at the AZUSAW south freestyle tournament back in 2018 in both schoolgirls and schoolboys.
She also recently announced on Instagram that she will attend Lehigh University in the fall, a private university in Pennsylvania.
“I’m so happy to announce that I’ll be attending Lehigh University. The environment, resources, and opportunities at Lehigh won my heart. I hope to build some of the same characteristics as the wonderful people in this community,” Jimenez said in an Instagram post.
Jimenez will be competing at the 2024 Olympic trials this April and has been vigorously training. She is hoping to take the 50kg slot at the Paris Olympics. However, to get there she will have to face 2023 medalist Sarah Hildebrandt.
At such a young age, Audrey Jimenez has made such a big impact wrestling around the world. With the continuous hard work she puts into the sport, she will inevitably end up making an even bigger difference in the future.
