Perfect season and a state champion, Pitman’s Avalos is The Bee’s Wrestler of the Year
Lilly Avalos was destined to wrestle, even if she did not always know it.
Growing up with sisters, she participated in ballet, cheer, gymnastics and soccer as a young child. She enjoyed being like her older sisters, but Avalos’ heart was clearly somewhere else.
“Throughout daycare, I would always pick fights with people,” Avalos said with a laugh. “I just loved to fight and I would roughhouse with a whole bunch of cousins or boys at the daycare.”
The always energetic Avalos was referred to wrestling by a childhood friend’s father. Though she seemed like a perfect fit, her parents were hesitant.
“They were like, ‘No, you’re gonna get hurt, wrestling isn’t made for girls, you can’t wrestle,’” Avalos said. “It was about a year of convincing and begging and finally my dad said, ‘OK, you could give it a shot, but you’re not gonna like it.’ And sure enough, I gave it a shot. I was the only girl there and I ended up loving it.”
In the years since, Avalos has become one of the state’s best wrestlers and used the sport to earn an athletic scholarship.
After being the top 121-pound wrestler in California, finishing a perfect 41-0 during her senior season and winning a state championship, Pitman’s Lilly Avalos is The Bee’s Wrestler of the Year.
Getting on the scene
She wasn’t always good.
Avalos started wrestling in fourth grade, which is late compared to many of the sport’s top athletes, some who start around 4 or 5 years old.
There was a learning curve, but her competitive spirit and multi-sport background made for a quick adjustment.
“There were a lot of things I had to learn,” she said. “It didn’t all click at once. … I felt like I was behind because a lot of these kids were already at a higher level and I wanted to catch up with them.”
While girls wrestling has grown a lot in recent years, Avalos remembers a time when she was the only one on the mat.
“I was constantly being told, ‘Oh you’re a girl, you can’t do wrestling. You’re not going to be good at it,’” she said. “Kids were coming up to me like, ‘Oh, I can beat you, you’re a girl’ and that is something that I took as a challenge. I was like, ‘No, I’m gonna prove you wrong.’”
Avalos was not well known entering high school, but she quickly worked her way through some of California’s best competition during her freshman year. She began in the 106-pound weight class, in which she took first at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters meet and fourth at the state championships.
She lost her sophomore season due to COVID, then came back as a junior and finished as the 121-pound runner-up at the Masters and state meets.
She entered her senior year as the top-ranked 121-pounder in the state.
Becoming a champion
Avalos tore through her senior season, never giving up her top spot in the 121-pound division. In the postseason, she claimed the top spot at the Masters championships and captured her first state title to cap a perfect 42-0 season.
“I really wasn’t gonna settle for anything other than first,” Avalos said. “I knew this was my last chance as a high school athlete … and I wasn’t going to let it slip by me. I wanted to do everything in my power to make it possible.”
Though she went in the No. 1 ranked wrestler in her weight class, a state championship was not guaranteed. This year’s championships were full of upsets, with 2022 state champions and top-ranked athletes eliminated before the final.
“I really just had to be confident in my abilities and focus on one match at a time,” she said. “You can’t focus on the finals match when you’re barely making it through the quarters.”
Avalos battled through a shoulder injury all weekend, but brought home the title.
“It was surreal,” she said. “I didn’t really know how to process it all at first, because I knew I won, but it just didn’t feel like it could have been happening to me. … It was something that I had to sit with for a little bit. It didn’t hit me all at once. But now I’m like man, this is awesome.”
Avalos was also the leader of a dominant Pitman girls wrestling team.
With just four athletes, the Pride won the Masters team championship and was in the running for the California team title, but ultimately finished third.
“We had a phenomenal team this year,” she said. “I love that we didn’t really have to force any connections and we bonded because we’ve all known each other for a while. In the room, we all just wanted each other to get better.”
Avalos will continue her wrestling career at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa.
The Lions, an NAIA powerhouse in many sports, fielded their first women’s wrestling team last season and sent four to the NAIA National Championships.
“I encourage a lot of people to try it because I think it teaches you a lot of self-discipline,” she said. “Especially any girls that want to try it, I highly encourage it. It can be scary but I highly recommend it. I’m so thankful for the sport and I don’t know who I’d be without it. It taught me a lot about myself.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2023 at 8:14 AM.
