Good Sports: El Diamante girls wrestling celebrating championship

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Out in Visalia, the El Diamante girls' wrestling team just got fitted for championship rings.

In just his second year at the helm, head coach Eric Nothstein led the Miners to a DII Central Section title, the first in program history.

But before the season even started, the Miners were just trying to fill out the roster.

"Once we started getting kids in weight classes and knowing where they're at, it just fell into place," Nothstein said.

Coach says the girls got their fair share of bumps and bruises

As trust built on and off the mat, so did the girls' confidence.

"Just trust in the process, believe in yourself, which became one of our slogans the last couple weeks," Nothstein said. "Just believe."

The Miners started to believe, but the possibility of a section title was still a long shot.

"We talked about the possibility of winning because it's definitely a dream, but we never thought we could actually do it until the day of," said Cali Willett.

Come the night of the DII tournament, the girls jumped out to an early lead.

"I was nail-biting it at the end," Nothstein said. "We were close."

With a finish just as strong as their start, the Miners would claim the title.

"I just remember sitting there wanting to cry because we worked really hard for this, and I think we really deserved it," Willett said.

"It's kind of unreal," said Macie Kenison.

With a title in hand, the Miners now hope the win speaks volumes for all of girls' wrestling across the Valley.

"One, don't mess with us," Kenison said.

At practice, the girls get in their reps with the boys' team.

"I feel like people think that girls wrestling isn't as good as guys wrestling," Willett said. "We may not have as strength as the boys, but we definitely are very strong."

"There is a lot of competition in girls wrestling," Kenison said.

With the proof on display, coach is already excited for what it can do for years to come.

"I'm hoping it'll bring out more numbers," Nothstein said. "The girls see that we have a successful program here, and they can give it a shot."

As the official trailblazers for the program, the girls hope they've carved out a path for future miners.

"I think it gives a little bit more hope for future years, and I hope they can see and look at us and say, 'Well, they did it and if I do enough work, I can do it.'"

It's hope that's got coach fired up to do it all over again next year.

"The only way to repeat is to rebuild, so we're in the process now," Nothstein said.

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