Audrey Jimenez is only 20 and just two years removed from graduating from Sunnyside High School, yet she sounded like a sage veteran Friday morning during a celebration at her alma mater for her national championship this season at Lehigh.
Jimenez has practiced jiu jitsu and competed in wrestling since 2017 and has experienced a high level of success because of her work ethic and determination, two characteristics she expressed as essential to Sunnyside’s athletes who filled the school’s auditorium.
She touched on her perseverance following knee surgery after her Blue Devil career, that concluded in 2024 with the distinction of being the first female in Arizona to win a state title in the boys division. The 106-pound champion defeated four male competitors en route to her fourth state title at Sunnyside.
The Sunnyside athletes also heard Jimenez discuss what it took starting at a young age to become a world-class wrestler who is now an NCAA Division I champion.
She talked about the importance of handling challenges through practical thinking and spiritual belief.
“I have this pressure on myself, because I expect a lot from myself, and I think that’s important,” she said, “but at the same time, you have to give yourself grace and understand that if you’re giving it your best, if you’re giving it your all in sports, in school, in life, that’s all you can do. That’s all you can control.
“You have to give yourself grace for doing that … When I’m feeling that pressure, when it’s hard to shake it again, I pray. I give it to God, like, ‘Hey, take away these words. Take away these doubts about the past, about the future. Just let me be present right now.’ And that’s what I would say. That’s kind of how I try to live my life.”
Persevering through injuries
Jimenez completed her first season of competition for Lehigh as the NCAA champion at 110 pounds with a perfect 21-0 record. She posted a 100% bonus rate, with seven pins, eight technical falls, six forfeits and no match going to a decision.
The dominance occurred after Jimenez worked her way back from knee surgery for a torn MCL and ACL that she suffered in one of her many world-level competitions while she was in high school.
Last May, after her return from the surgery, she claimed a gold medal in the 110-pound weight class at the 2025 Senior Pan American Championships at Monterrey, Mexico.
She also earned the U.S. Open freestyle championship and experienced a successful run in the U20 U.S. World Team Trials.
Although Jimenez seemed to be at full strength during her 21-0 run at Lehigh, she was far from that. She competed through a fractured shoulder socket and torn labrum, delaying surgery until after the season. She recently underwent the surgery and is now in the rehabilitation process.
Sunnyside athletic director Casey O’Brien, the host of the celebration at the auditorium, asked Jimenez about what the feeling was like when the referee held her hand in the air after Jimenez pinned Sage Mortimer of Grand Valley State in the first period of the 110-pound final.
“Honestly, some relief,” she answered. “It’s been really tough, and I did push through a lot of really hard situations and situations where I almost gave up a lot of times. I think just going through that, and having that moment on the mat and just kind of realizing like, ‘Okay, that was worth it.’
“I know so many times I wanted to give up, so many times I wanted to quit, but I would do it all over again, many times, just because that one moment made it all worth it.”
Jimenez also earned the NCAA tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler Award and NCAA’s Most Dominant Wrestler Award for the 2025-26 season.
Adaptability to college life important
Jimenez was unable to wrestle for Lehigh during the 2024-25 season because of her rehabilitation from her knee surgery following her career at Sunnyside.
The inability to compete added to her challenge of adapting to college life far away from home at Lehigh’s campus at Bethlehem, Pa.
“I feel like for so long, I connected wrestling to my identity, and I was a little bit worried about how I would fit in, or how I would make friends and these connections with the people around me, just because they couldn’t see how good of a wrestler I was on the mat, or how hard I trained,” Jimenez said.
“But none of that matters, because whether or not I was able to wrestle or be on the mat or train, I still made those connections. I think for anybody transitioning from something you’re so used to, you’re coming to high school, you’re in routine, you have your buddies, nothing changes day to day. I think if you’re making a big change and going to college, it’s going to be tough. No matter what you did in high school or what you didn’t do, it’s going to be real tough, because you’re trying to figure out your environment, and you’re trying to make new friends, and everything about it is new, and you’re just trying to figure it out.”
That significant change contributed to Jimenez maturing even more than what she showed at Sunnyside with all the state titles and academic honors.
“To be in a different spot, in a different environment where you’re uncomfortable, that’s when you learn the most,” Jimenez said. “Transition is just tough for everybody, but you just gotta push through.
“So many times I was like trying to find a way out, and like trying to find an excuse to not come back, or find a reason that things wouldn’t work out … I’m big into my faith and kind of thinking about how God always works things out for our good, for our best interest. It always pulls me back and centers me whenever I’m struggling. So, yeah, I think that transition is hard, but it’s also very worth it.”
Challenging herself as a student at Sunnyside also helped her prepare for the rigors of college.
She also learned that staying free of limitations and keeping an open mind to what her future may hold has helped her transition into the next phase of her life.
“I took a couple AP (Advanced Placement) classes (at Sunnyside) that were super, super hard and they translated really well to what I experienced in college,” Jimenez said. “I think that’s really helpful. It is important to challenge yourself in school.
“I think the biggest lesson I learned is you will have it figured out. … Don’t get overwhelmed with not knowing what you want to do, and don’t get overwhelmed with having a time crunch on you, because there is plenty of time to figure out what you want to do. You have so much freedom to have those decisions, being so young. And you can always change your mind. … Keep pressing and figure out the best route to get there, but also don’t get nervous or hold yourself back.”
Audrey Jimenez takes pride in being a symbol of growth in women’s wrestling, looked up to by many young wrestlers, girls and boys, and being an inspiration for her community. World-class wrestler who earned a national championship at Lehigh this season after achieving four state… pic.twitter.com/zOqnWTbEnY
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 24, 2026
Goals are kept at a high level
The hard work Jimenez put in starting at Gallego Intermediate and then Sunnyside — often arriving at the high school before staff and administration to work out and run around the campus — has put her in position for her success at Lehigh and beyond.
In eight significant international competitions over the last seven years, Jimenez has earned gold twice — last May in the Pan American Championships in Mexico and in 2019 in the U15 Pan American Championships. Her gold last year in the Pan American Championships came after she earned a bronze medal in 2024.
In world competition, she has come close to winning gold five times, but finished with a silver medal — twice in the U23 World Championships (2023 and 2025) and three times in the U20 World Championships (2022, 2023 and 2025).
“I still want to be a world champ; I haven’t done that,” Jimenez said. “I want to be an Olympic champ, multiple times, an Olympic champ … multiple-time world champ. But at the end of the day, too, I just want to be the best wrestler I can be.
“If I don’t accomplish all of that, it’s gonna suck. I’m going to be pretty sad. But at the end of the day, I think the biggest goal that’s going to save me from that, is if I am a good person, and I know I am a good person, and I have good people around me, I won’t be upset about whether I win the Olympics or not, or whether I win the worlds or not, because I know I am a good person.”
Setting the bar high with aspirations for the Olympics, starting in 2028 at Los Angeles, will put Jimenez where she wants to be along that journey.
“I haven’t accomplished so many of the goals I’ve had for myself, and sometimes that makes me pretty upset because I haven’t gotten there,” Jimenez said. “But I also think it’s what’s helped me accomplish what I have accomplished. A lot of times I’m kind of forced to take a step back and realize what I have done.
“I think that’s important, because if you’re setting your your goals super, super high, and you’re working as hard as you can to get there, you’re going to accomplish so many small goals just to get there. And I don’t think it’s bad to expect a lot from yourself, and I don’t think it’s bad to set that bar high, because if you set that bar high, you’re going to overcome so much and accomplish so much … If you’re kind of selling yourself short, then maybe you won’t work as hard as you should … You deserve to push yourself harder and expect more of yourself, because there’s so much potential that everybody has.”
Self advocacy, seeking help and input from others essential
Having pride in one’s self goes hand in hand with welcoming the support of others to achieve those small goals that can lead to big goals, according to Jimenez.
A high-level college athlete can only get better with a strong work ethic and the willingness to get support when needed.
“Everybody faces some kind of adversity, and it’s hard … it’s really, really hard, no matter what that looks like, whether it’s an injury, whether it’s something going on in your family, anything really, no matter how big or small it’s going to be, it’s going to be hard to overcome that,” Jimenez said. “I think the biggest thing is just leaning on the people around you. There were so many times this season where I said, ‘I’m done. I’m giving up. I’m done.’
“But those are just very, very small moments. And when you take the time to take a step back and realize why you’re in your sport, why you do it, and really lean on the people around you, I think that’s important … When you have to overcome adversity, lean on all the people around you and let them support you. And if you feel like you don’t have that support from around you, seek it. What’s the harm in asking people for help? I think that it takes a very strong person to ask for help, and it also helps you kind of be in tune with your own body and realize and recognize what you need.”
Jimenez mentioned she gains strength from the understanding and loving ways of those around her.
“I’m trying to figure out ways to understand that the people I have around me aren’t going to care whether I win or lose, whether I’m the best wrestler, and I’m able to uphold that or not,” she said. “So that kind of gives me some peace, knowing that the people around me love me so much that it doesn’t matter what I do in wrestling, and even without wrestling, they would still love me the same.”
Hearing Jimenez talk with the students, some of whom were her teammates, or are related to her former classmates, she got as much out of the experience as they did.
“You’re going to make mistakes in life,” she told them. “You just gotta live life with love. I think that’s really important.”
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
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 in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Recommended for you
