Senior Cadet Nazaretta Lavalouis-Talia earned a state runner-up finish at the UHSAA State Wrestling Championships in Division 2A on the weekend of February 9th, 2024 at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield, UT.
Wrestling in the girls 190 weight class, Cadet Lavalouis went 2-1 against her opponents. She beat Judyann Carballo from Parowan to qualify for the final match against Abby Woods from Duchesne. She lost in a fall to Woods in 3:55 in the final match.
Lavalouis’ overall record for the season was 9-3, so she ended the season 11-4. She has been wrestling for only two years.
“Wrestling takes a lot of focus, conditioning, coordination, and fast-thinking. I lift weights every day, training a different muscle region each time. I have a free period during second, so I jog around the park Grappling and carrying weight are also very important when it comes to conditioning.”
“My coaches mainly helped me with technique and conditioning at practice. When the boy sent to their Divisionals tournament, my team mate and I would practice with Northridge.”
Lavalouis understands the importance of being goal-oriented. “Two goals of mine [for the season] were to drop weight class 9from 235 to 190 lbs) and place at state.”
Her goal oriented approach led to her memorable moment during the season, if not a challenging one. “I wrestled a girl from Roy who weighed 235 lbs while I weighed 194.”
Lavalouis has only been at UMA for two years. “I have been living in Layton for about seven years, but I lived in Hawaii before that. I’m close with my older sister and little brother, and I have a younger sister who is seven years old. My dad is cool but stern, while my mother is loving and hard-working. My hobbies include fighting/roughhousing with my brother, watching movies with my older sister or listening to music and thinking when I’m by myself.”
Her most memorable moments of the season are “Echeverria breaking his foot, getting second at State, running to Maverick at 6 am for the girls at state, and my siblings and my dad coming to one of my wrestling tournaments.”
When she reflects on her time at state and her accomplishments there, it was a bitter-sweet experience. “I was upset with myself cause it was the finals, the farthest I have ever gotten with anything in my life. It was supposed to be a prideful experience, but when I ended up losing, it was the most disappointed I’ve ever felt with myself. I had friends and family tell me I did really good, but I stll look back at it and hate myself for understimating my opponent.”
“The most proud feeling I did get though was when my dad hugged me after my match. It was my first year of wrestling where my dad was around, (he is a retired Army weapons Sergeant) and it felt like I was a little girl and he would hug me and tell me evertying is gonna be okay and that I did the best I could.”
