CALDWELL — There is still another year until girls wrestling in Idaho is a sanctioned sport, but girls from all over Idaho competed in Pocatello for the unofficial girls state wrestling title.
That included one of the top girl wrestlers in the state from Caldwell High School, Marissa Jimenez.
A girl of few words, Jimenez lets her wrestling, medals, and awards do the talking.
“She is pretty intense,” Adam Freeman, Caldwell High School's assistant wrestling coach said.
Whether she is wrestling boys or girls she said that it doesn't matter as long as she gets to be on the mat.
“She's always willing to step up," Freeman said. "Plenty of times we had to put her in boys tournaments and she is always game for whatever weight class and whatever competition. She is a blast.”
Jimenez fell in love with the sport at a young age after watching her older cousin's high school wrestling match.
“I grew up watching them and going to their senior night and all that, so I wanted to but I never really got the chance until I was in middle school,” Jimenez said.
Then in sixth grade, she grabbed a middle school wrestling flyer and begged her mom to let her try out.
“She told me no for like a week before it started and then she finally gave in,” said Jimenez.
Ever since that moment, she has never looked back.
A few of Jimenez's long list of accomplishments on the mat include being a multi-state champion in both Greco-roman and freestyle, winning a medal at World's in Reno and she's one of only a few girls wrestling All-Americans in Idaho.
Even with all her accomplishments, she's not stopping there.
“I don’t need to stay content with myself and I need to keep pushing myself even when it is hard,” Jimenez said.
Marissa's dedication to her craft is evident in her work ethic something that her coach said inspires her team.
"She is always willing to go train basically 12 months a year. She gets out and trains and when we don’t have opportunities then she finds opportunities," said Freeman. "She is a go-getter for sure."
But more than what she has accomplished on the mat is what she has done for girls wrestling as a whole in Idaho.
“She is constantly promoting it and it is important to her personally obviously," said Freeman. "She is fantastic I think she is a huge part of the leap that Idaho has made towards girls wrestling and her time as a high school wrestler."
Jimenez not only dedicates a lot of time to her craft but also makes sure she is helping the next generation of girls wrestling.
“She is always trying to get more girls out for us," said Freeman. "She is always working with the other girls helping them train. Even with the young girls. We have girls as young as 5 years old."
Jimenez is undefeated this year wrestling girls and will be competing in the boy's 4a District Tournament.
"Hopefully I will place," Jimenez said.
