Champion wrestler racks up frequent flyer miles. Next stop: Lady Eagles Invite.

Enochs High wrestler Rory Coscia has reached the pinnacle of her sport by remaining committed to the craft. Around the clock. Year round.

From time to time, though, life tests that commitment, as The Bee's reigning Girls Wrestler of the Year has learned this season.

While her teammates live out of gym bags, traveling from tournament to tournament, the coveted senior has mostly handled luggage as she explores next-level options across the country.

A reigning CIF State champion, Coscia has been limited this winter because of college trips. She's wrestled in just seven matches, winning all seven, including an impressive run at the Napa Valley Classic last weekend.

With the Sac-Joaquin Section postseason and the CIF State Tournament on the horizon, Coscia's schedule will intensify, beginning with Saturday's 9th annual Lady Eagles Invitational, hosted by Enochs High.

The round-robin invitational is expected to draw nearly 300 wrestlers from 40 schools. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. Enochs coach Duane Brooks has been a part of all nine invitationals. He believes the tournament has mirrored the explosion in popularity of girls wrestling.

"The first year we held this tournament, we barely had 100 girls," Brooks said. "As girls wrestling has grown in popularity in California, we've seen the population increase at our tournament, too.

"Once you win a state (as Enochs did in 2015), you get more attention and it generates more interest. The girls we've had qualify for state and place at state, there are teams that want to wrestle them and see where they are."

All eyes will be on Coscia, who will see her most extensive action of the season Saturday. She's expected to wrestle five matches.

"She's been traveling quite a bit," Brooks said. "She's been looking into different colleges and looking into different offers. She's been training in between."

Brooks isn't concerned about Coscia's shape or her focus. The 116-pound state champion will wrestle at 121s this weekend before cutting weight for her state title defense.

Last season, Coscia went 39-0 and rolled tournament victories at the Napa Valley Classic, Sac-Joaquin Section Divisionals and Masters into state glory. She medaled as a freshman (third) and sophomore (fourth) before joining Sariya Jones as the only state champions in program history.

Coscia, who has won 46 consecutive matches, could become the first four-time state placer in school history.

"She's pretty passionate about her sport," said Brooks, who was named the 2016-17 High School Girls Wrestling Coach of the Year by the California Coaches Association. During his tenure, Enochs has produced five state finalists and 11 state medalists.

"She's a year-round wrestler and trainer. Wrestling has been woven into the fabric of her life. The high school season is the highlight and the way she tries to cap off every year. She's looking forward to making another undefeated run and defending her state title."

She's not alone.

The wrestling room at Enochs High is filled with the committed and ambitious, each hoping to climb the podium at state.

Kaitlain Gilmour is building momentum. The 145-pound senior is 15-3 with a tournament victory at the Briones Invitational in San Leandro. She reached the finals at Sacramento's West Coast Tournament of Champions and placed third at the Napa Valley Classic.

Last season, Gilmour was seventh in state at 150s.

"She's improved greatly from last season; she's really building on that," Brooks said. "She's been focused. This being her senior year, she wants to make the most of it."

Trinity Hernandez is a much-improved junior looking for her first state appearance. Hernandez has wrestled at 116s, but will likely move down to 113s to make room for Coscia. Hernandez was fourth at the Napa Valley Classic, second at the Briones Invitational and sixth at the West Coast Tournament of Champions.

"We're seeing great things out of her," Brooks said. "She didn't make it to state last year. We're expecting her to not only make it this year, but place. She's always been very quiet and a hard worker, and things are coming together for her. Not that she was bad last year. She was tough, but she ran into some tough opponents. She missed state by one win. This year, things are clicking."

Brooks believes the same can be said about senior Corrine Freitas, who began wrestling last year. She was third at the Briones Invitational and won two matches in Napa.

"Our goal with our tournament is to get girls as many matches as we can," Brooks said. "Girls will be in groups where they can get five matches in a day. It's a nice end-of-season tournament to make that push for the postseason and get some extra preparation in."

Sac-Joaquin Section Divisionals are Feb. 2-3 at Central Valley High in Ceres.

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Champion wrestler racks up frequent flyer miles. Next stop: Lady Eagles Invite.."