All Victoria Wells had to do was keep her opponent pinned down.

 “This is the longest ten seconds of my life,” Wells recalled thinking. 

And 10 seconds later, on Feb. 26 at Mechanic Banks Arena in Bakersfield, Wells had taken the title of 8th in state for the 116 lbs category at the 2022 CIF State Wrestling Competition. 

Wells sat with her “mouth open,” thinking to herself, “I just won”.

The accomplishment had been the culmination of Wells’ wrestling journey since the eighth grade.

“My dad also (played in) college so he (said I) should try it. I liked it and I just decided to keep doing it in high school, “ Wells said.

Wells had to compete in three competitions to receive her title. First was regionals where she got 2nd, then 5th in masters, and finally 8th in state. 

Typically competitors that place 1st and 2nd at masters are the ones to place in state, so Wells’ placement at state was a surprise after her 5th place finish. 

The journey was not easy for Wells. 

Leading up to the competition, Wells had tweaked her shoulder during practice and at masters she fell on it even more. 

Wells trained hard, even with other schools like Rocklin’s wrestling team. The two smaller teams frequently trained together and even nicknaming themselves “Granite Rock”.

Still moving forward, Wells, despite receiving a couple collegiate offers, has decided to leave her wrestling days behind.

Placing eighth was an even bigger achievement to Wells given her family history.

“I was super happy because my dad got eighth when he was a junior,“ Well said.

Throughout her journey, Wells has had the support of her teammates and her family.

Sophomore Malia Nimi joined the team this year. 

“I feel like we have gotten really close…we had the same hotels and we hang out during the tournaments…so we are with each other all the time,” Nimi said. 

Sister and fellow teammate Taylor Wells would film her sister from the sidelines so her sister could analyze them for improvement.

And throughout every struggle, Taylor Wells has seen her sister grow stronger mentally and physically.

“(Victoria) would just give up, “ but by the time she got to state, “she would fight to get off her back no matter what, ” said Taylor Wells.