Rios’ confidence has surged in recent weeks, and it’s evident in her dominant postseason performances.
The Manteca sophomore claimed the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters 235-pound championship Saturday at Adventist Health Arena, pinning all four of her opponents along the way. She locked down the title with a 3-minute, 30-second stoppage of Central Valley’s Brianna Espinoza, who placed sixth in the state tournament last year.
Rios will make her first appearance in the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships this week at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield. The three-day event begins Thursday.
She has overcome some adversity in getting to this point. Last year, she was hampered by a late-season hip dislocation and came up short of qualifying for state.
Expectations were high for her senior campaign, but Rios had an up-and-down start. She failed to medal at the prestigious 25th annual Napa Valley Girls Classic but hasn’t lost since. Rios rolled to individual titles in the Valley Oak League Championships and SJS Central Regional leading up to Masters.
“It was rough, but I got seeded second because I won regionals,” Rios said. “Last year, I got third at regionals and seventh here, and this year, I knew I had to work hard, so I would place higher than seventh.
“After my first two matches, I knew I was going to the finals.”
Rios proved worthy of her No. 2 seed for Masters. Following a first-round bye, she pinned Buhach Colony’s Angie Rojo (3:02) and Sutter’s Naliah Bremmer (4:50) to advance to the championship semifinals. She secured her state berth by finishing off Annebell Austin of Pitman in 5:03. Austin ended up taking third.
“She has done really well,” Manteca coach Vince Bordi said. “Last year, she came back from an injury that would have sidelined many people, and she had a standout season. She started the season off rough, and through the season she has skyrocketed.
“It’s been a progression, and the beautiful thing about this sport is that it is not where you start in November, it is where you finish in March.”
