Sunnyside world-class wrestler Audrey Jimenez, who earned the silver medal in the U20 World Women’s Freestyle competition in August, took home the 106-pound Mile High Challenge Wrestling Tournament championship on Friday and Saturday by defeating five boys along the way.
Jimenez, a junior on track to graduate after only three years at Sunnyside, defeated Christyian Owens of Mohave by major decision (11-5) in the championship match Saturday at the Toyota Findlay Center.
Owens (16-1) suffered his first loss of the season while Jimenez improved to 20-4.
The victory followed her semifinal win over Morenci’s Merrik Williams by fall in 3:09.
She was 5-0 in the event with three wins by fall and two by major decision.
Jimenez plans to attend an Ivy League school, potentially Princeton, and train for the 2024 Olympics.
Her path to the Mile High Challenge championshipv the last two days:
- Round 1 – Jimenez won by major decision over Jovany Gomez (Gila Ridge) 2-1 (MD 11-2)
- Round 2 – Jimenez won by fall over Lyric Brooks (Chino Valley) 8-7 (Fall 3:47)
- Quarterfinal – Jimenez won by fall over Cayden Ray (Williams Field) 10-4 (Fall 1:50)
- Semifinal – Jimenez won by fall over Merrik Williams (Morenci) 17-4 (Fall 3:09)
- Final – Jimenez won by major decision over Christyian Owens (Mohave) 16-1 (MD 16-5)
Jimenez is one of 11 Sunnyside wrestlers vying for an individual title in the Mile High Challenge championship rounds on Saturday night.
The Blue Devils are on pace to earn the team title. More results to come.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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