Back in March, Lorianna Piestewa, along with five other members of the Miyamura girls wrestling team, was recognized for being runner-ups in the state championship. Piestewa was also one of the individual state champions. But just because the wrestling season is over for now doesn’t mean Piestewa is done racking up awards.
Lorianna will be going into her senior year this fall with many wrestling titles already under her belt. Her latest award was won back in June. She was runner up at the USA Wrestling 2023 Girls High School Recruiting Showcase.
Lorianna said she went into one of the biggest tournaments she’s ever competed in knowing she just had to do her best.
“During the tournament I kind of went in and thought ‘Ok, this is anybody’s game, all I have to do is go in there and wrestle my own match. When I made it to finals I thought it was unbelievable because I’d never made it that far in a national tournament,” Lorianna said. “But I wanted to do well, so I just went out there with the mindset ‘Ok, I know what I can do and I’m going to out there and show it the best I can.’”
Her dad Adam Piestewa was right beside her during the Las Vegas, Nev. competition.
“We’re of course very proud of her. … We’ve always known she’s been very driven in every sport she’s ever been in, whether it was softball, cross country, or wrestling,” Adam said. “... Her big thing is not to settle. She likes to push and do the best she can with whatever she’s doing.”
As for her favorite part about the challenging sport, Lorianna said it’s knowing what she’s capable of doing.
“My favorite part about wrestling is being able to control what I do in the match,” Lorianna said. “I don’t have to worry about anything happening to me because I can control my own body, and if you’re a good enough wrestler you can control the other person to get your points and your takedowns.”
She said the hardest part about wrestling is not the physical part, but the mental side of the competition.
“I would say the mentality [is the hardest part about wrestling],” Lorianna said. “If you don’t have a good mentality when you go out to the mat then you’re not going to wrestle the way you want to….”
After high school, Lorianna plans to keep pursuing wrestling. She already has a few colleges in mind.
“I plan to take wrestling as far as it can take me,” she said. “I’m going to go to college to get an exercise science degree and see if I can become a coach or a psychical therapist so I can stay in wrestling as long as I can.”
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
