Pueblo High School Class of 2027 talent Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith strives to meet her standards and those of her notorious wrestling family by training tirelessly and practicing techniques constantly.
The work has translated into three state championships and numerous honors and achievements on a national scale, including a No. 7 ranking among 110-pound wrestlers in SI.com’s final rating of the 2025-26 school year.
“It just solidifies my idea that I am good and my work is paying off,” Valenzuela Smith said this week at the KD x RBY Wrestling Clinic at Desert VIew. “Other people are noticing, so it just kind of confirms it’s not going unnoticed, like, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.'”
Valenzuela Smith trained with Danny Vega’s Tucson Cyclones at Pueblo a day after the KD x RBY Clinic concluded.
Pueblo is where her father, Josiah Smith, won a state titles in 1998, and her grandfather, Orlando Smith, won state championships in 1974 and 1975. Her brothers Mozes and Jozeph were also quality wrestlers with the Warriors. Mozes (Class of 2021) placed at state and Jozeph earned his second consecutive state championship this season as a senior.
Elizabeth is the first female state wrestling champion for both Pueblo and the Tucson Unified School District. She will enter her senior year in the fall coming off a full summer of training and competing in the prestigious Fargo Nationals at Fargo, N.D., from July 9-18.
Over the last month, she has placed third in the U.S. Open Championships at Las Vegas and suffered a minor injury that preempted her run to a potential title at the Southern Plains Regional Championships at Oklahoma City. She won her first two matches by technical fall before having to stop competing because of an injury.
She was healthy this week when training in the five-day clinic operated by Roman Bravo-Young and Khaled Dassan at Desert View.
“What’s really cool about this camp, is you can go back and make it your own techniques and just keep working on it,” she said.
Keep working on it.
That’s her theme.
She is scheduled to participate in another camp conducted by Bravo-Young at his new club (722 E. 46th Street) next week. The All Girls Wrestling Camp will take place next Friday through Sunday (June 5-7).
Audrey Jimenez, a four-time state champion at Sunnyside who earned a national title at Lehigh this season, is one of the featured guests.
The other guests are Arelys Valles, Grand View University assistant coach with international wrestling experience; Bella Mir, a burgeoning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA fighter who won an NCAA Division III wrestling championship this season with North Central College; and Erica Pastoriza, a 2021 World U17 champion from Phoenix who recently concluded her redshirt sophomore season at Iowa Central College.
Valenzuela Smith will work along with Jimenez at the camp, which will include at least 85 participants.
When history tells the story of girls high school wrestling in Southern Arizona and the state, Jimenez and Valenzuela Smith will be mentioned as two of the most prominent pioneers of the sport.
Jimenez became the first female wrestler in the state to win four championships, including her historic title competing against boys in the state tournament as a senior. She is also a world-class wrestler earning gold medals at the Pan American Championships and also silver medals at the U20 and U23 World Championships.
Valenzuela Smith and Cienega’s Daesiah Varner are in position to join Jimenez as four-time state champs.
“I think being able to kind of follow what Audrey did for building women’s wrestling in Arizona is kind of big shoes to fill,” Valenzuela Smith said. “She did a great job. Being able to work with her and then help give back to my community with practices or camps means a lot, knowing like it’s not just about beating everyone or winning, but letting these girls continue to grow as well.”
Valenzuela Smith said she takes pride in helping the wild growth of the girls wrestling. The AIA did not start sanctioning girls wrestling for individuals until 2018-19 and for team competition until 2020-21.
“Just like seeing the growth, like when I was younger there would not have been this many girls at a camp like this,” she said, referencing the KD x RBY Clinic that had close to 20 girls of all ages participating. “I would have just been wrestling boys in the past, so that’s really fun to see. These girls are just getting better, so it’s just gonna keep growing.”
Training and performing at her best at Fargo are her main objectives before pursuing her fourth state title and making a college choice next school year.
She made an official visit to Brown University of the Ivy League in October. She has a 4.00 GPA and ranks among the top students of her class as part of the Pueblo College Preparatory Academy. She plans to study nutrition and exercise physiology in college.
“Over the last three years, it’s definitely been a lot of fun being able to compete and continue to grow,” she said. “It’s been a lot of learning experiences with wrestling nationally, and then at big state tournaments, which has been fun.
“I’m just excited to keep going one more year, and then obviously this summer will be fun for national tournaments as well. I am looking forward to the whole experience.”
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