Larissa Espinosa never set out to make history.
Especially on a wrestling mat, something she initially stepped onto more or less as a favor. Espinosa’s friend told Espinosa to come try wrestling and she quickly fell in love with the sport. She loved being part of a team but still working toward an individual goal.
Committing to be a college athlete is the second time Espinosa has made IHS girls wrestling history. During her still-young career, she was the first Bobcat girls wrestler to place at the CHSAA State championships three times.
She was watched by coaches, family and friends at a signing ceremony on May 6, where she officially committed to be a scholarship athlete for Trinidad State College in Colorado.
Espinosa said Trinidad made sense for the personal connection she felt with the coaching staff. She felt they wanted her as a person, not just a wrestler. They also make an impact in their community, which was very attractive for her. She expressed interest in studying cosmetology, but knew she would want to do something other than just study in college.
“It’s never going to be easy; you always have to continue to give that second effort,” IHS girls wrestling head coach Michael ‘Mich’ Napier said. “We know Larissa has that second – and third – effort, no matter what’s going on within herself. Lots of tears, lots of blood, lots of sweat. Lots of summers and late nights – it’s not something that’s done easily.”
Napier, Ignacio wrestling head coach, was an NAIA All-American at WBU (Plainview, Texas) in 2016. He graduated from there and started coaching there. Trinidad coincidentally had a dual meet against them. A skilled Trinidad team of seven got 19th at nattys (in Council Bluffs, Iowa) with 21.5 points.
Ignacio boys wrestling coach Jordan Larsen knows what it’s like to wrestle in college after his career competing at Colorado School of Mines. Larsen reflected on how the technical side of his wrestling was reinvented in college. He thinks Espinosa has the grit to lead her to success in college. Larsen is proud that the Ignacio wrestling staff has given Espinosa the tools she needs to take the next step.
“Coach Mich taught me to actually trust myself on the mat, other than going with the other person’s moves,” said Espinosa. “He made me try different things I didn’t think I could do. Larsen, he was just an amazing coach overall; he pushed everyone to their limits, pushed them toward their goals.
Espinosa isn’t scared of failing. She’s scared of not succeeding. She wants to understand the sports more and have fun.
“Wrestling gave me a hope that if I want to do something, I could, because it’s on my terms,” Espinosa said. I feel amazing; I get to inspire girls that don’t know if they can make it in wrestling to actually push toward goals they have in their minds and do better than they’d think they could. If you get told ‘No,’ you have to work toward getting that ‘Yes.’”
