Canon-Mac grad Solorio continues to be a trailblazer
Val Solorio has accomplished many firsts in a memorable wrestler career that is far from finished.
The 2024 graduate of Canon-McMillan High School was the first sanctioned girls state champion by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) in 2022 before accomplishing the feat for the PIAA during her senior season with the Big Macs.
Solorio added a third trailblazing accomplishment on March 7 at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, when the University of Iowa sophomore earned the first title awarded at the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling National Championships at 103 pounds.
Teammates Kennedy Blades (160) and Kylie Welker (180) also won individual championships, as the Hawkeyes finished second to McKendree for the team title. McKendree had 171 points and Iowa finished with 166. North Central was third (123.5).
Solorio was ecstatic to win her first collegiate gold, but she is far from satisfied.
“Being able to win the first NCAA championship for women’s wrestling was definitely a goal, but now that I have done it, I will be looking to defend my titles,” Solorio said. “I hope I can three-peat.”
Solorio earned bonus points in three of her four victories. She scored a 7-1 decision over Aurora’s Genesis Ramirez in the quarterfinals. Solorio won by technical fall, 11-0, over Emmanuel’s Rebekah Jean-Baptiste in the first round, and after defeating Ramirez, she pinned Quincy’s Trinity Pendergrass in 40 seconds to reach the finals.
Solorio left no doubt in winning the championship with a 13-1 technical fall over Grand Valley State’s Rayana Sahagun.
Solorio completed her season with a record of 35-2.
Women’s wrestling competes in freestyle at the collegiate level, which features scoring and rule changes. High school wrestling for boys and girls, and college men compete in folkstyle.
Solorio believes freestyle is the right fit for her.
“I wrestled folkstyle in high school because it was what I had to do, but I preferred freestyle because there is a lot more technique involved in the way you can scramble in freestyle because you have to be disciplined, or you will expose yourself and give up points,” Solorio said. “I also knew that I was going to be wrestling freestyle in college, and I hope to be at the international level, so I wanted to learn as much freestyle as I could. I just think freestyle is more exciting. It also brings more entertaining matches for the spectators.”
Even though she is competing for one of the premier wrestling programs in the country, Solorio still beams with joy when she hears a Canon-McMillan success story.
“I love Canon-Mac with all my heart,” Solorio said. “When I hear that a Canon-McMillan wrestler is doing well, I get that sense of pride, and it doesn’t matter whether it is a boy or girl.”
When she is not competing, training or studying, Solorio lends her hand as a coach.
“Coaching, even when you don’t feel the most confidence in it, helps you learn wrestling,” Solorio said. “You can see the mistakes in other wrestlers as you are teaching them. Teaching is a great way to learn.
“I use the same philosophy when I am studying at school. I pull my friends and teammates aside and ask them if I can teach them. They always say, ‘yes.’ If I am explaining it clearly, then it shows that I learned it.”