WATSONVILLE — She might have only been 8 or 9 years old, but Gianna Mosqueda was unquestionably inspired while watching former Watsonville High great Emily Kalka bulldoze through opponents like a runaway truck.
A 2010 graduate, Kalka blazed a trail while wrestling for the Wildcatz, dominating girls and boys alike and becoming Watsonville’s first, and only, female Central Coast Section champ at the inaugural meet during her senior season.
Kalka’s supreme run on the mat inspired plenty of young female wrestlers around the area, including Mosqueda, who was just a child learning the basics of the sport with the Watsonville Wolverines — now known as the Rivercats.
“She was an inspiration to me. I wanted to be just like her,” Mosqueda said. “She was beating the boys, and all that. I was like, ‘you know what? I’m just going to stick with it, and when I beat the boys I’m going to think of Emily’… I remember coming into the wrestling room all confident and wrestling against Abel (Pena) thinking I could win.”
Mosqueda took a whooping from Pena, the program’s first male CCS champion in nine years last season, but her determination to improve on her craft, and follow in Kalka’s footsteps was unwavering.
This weekend, Mosqueda will take her final shot at placing her name next to Kalka’s on the CCS champions board in the Watsonville wrestling room.
The girls’ section championships are set for Friday and Saturday at Overfelt High in San Jose. Preliminary rounds start Friday at 5 p.m., and pick back up on Saturday at 9 a.m.
The championship matches are scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.
“Emily was a big name, being our first CCS champ for girls,” said Watsonville head coach Josh Castillo. “Hopefully we can repeat that with Gianna. It’s time to reach the goals and those dreams she had as a little girl. She saw that spotlight on Emily. Now it’s time for her spotlight.”
The top seed at 143 pounds, Mosqueda is expected to advance to the championship match for a third straight season. Whether or not she can finally reach the top of the hill, is still to be determined.
But one thing is for sure: Mosqueda will not be lacking confidence heading into the weekend’s action after arguably her best high school season. She has three tournament titles to her name, and has also finished in the top three at three other tournaments.
She credits her success as a senior to the back-to-back CCS defeats, and her work in the offseason.
Falling in the CCS championship match in consecutive seasons to a pair of state placers in Jenna Garcia and Kendal Davis was nothing to be ashamed of, but Mosqueda’s losses left her unsatisfied. She found a new motivation at the conclusion of last season, and decided to spent the entire offseason refining her skill set by competing at several state and national tournaments. Her conditioning is much improved, and her power, speed and technique are all at a new level.
But, most importantly, Mosqueda said, her confidence is at an all-time high.
“Getting second two years in a row, I had to step it up to get it done at CCS,” Mosqueda said. “Confidence is big. Being confident in your skills. Being mentally ready is a skill.”
Confidence was about the only thing that was missing over the last few years, according to Castillo. A fifth-place finisher at CCS as a freshman, Mosqueda did not advance to the final the next two seasons by mistake. Her skill gave her a chance to compete for a title, but her inexperience and nervousness threw her off her game when the spotlight shone down.
With that barrier down, Mosqueda’s skill has been on full display, and given her a realistic shot to follow in Kalka’s footsteps.
A win on Saturday would make her only the fourth female section champion from the county.
Win or lose, Mosqueda hopes that her success over the course of her high school career inspires other young girls to follow in her footsteps.
“I’ve had a couple of people come up to me throughout the year, and it just feels good to know that people come out to watch you and support you,” Mosqueda said. “They don’t even go [to Watsonville], but they come to watch.”
Her teammate, freshman Michelle Gomez, has already been impressed with Mosqueda’s work ethic this season. On the first day of practice, Mosqueda took her and the rest of the female wrestlers through the paces with no quit, making them redo missed shots, holding everyone accountable during conditioning and showing no mercy while sparring. Those expectations haven’t dipped one bit over the course of the season.
“She always pushes herself and pushes me to do our best,” said Gomez, who will also wrestle at CCS at 152 pounds. “It’s pretty amazing to see, honestly.”
Aptos High and North Monterey County High will also have wrestlers competing at the CCS meet.
The Mariners’ trio of sophomore Camilia Barranco (106 pounds), and seniors Emma Rodriguez (150) and Becca Faulk (160) are all seeded fourth in their respective divisions. Barranco last year took fourth, and Faulk finished sixth.
N.M.C., meanwhile, has freshman Valeria Ramirez heading into Friday as the fifth seed at 131 pounds.
