PHARR — Mia Diaz was first approached by Valley View girls wrestling coach Crystal Franz when Diaz was in junior high, and Franz asked her if she would like to wrestle.
“I thought at first it was a joke,” Mia’s mother said. “But it’s been a journey.”
Not far into her career, she showed promise. As a senior, however, she took all her experience and what she learned to the state tournament, winning the Region IV-5A championship before falling to the eventual state champion in the 235-pound weight division. She finished her senior season with a 26-7 record.
She pinned down another major accomplishment Friday, signing in front of family, friends, coaches and teammates to continue her studies and her athletic career at Missouri Valley College.
“We were at the state tournament and the (Missouri) coach was asking to meet up whenever we had the time, but I didn’t want to. I was too scared,” Diaz said. “Next day, coach said, ‘You’re going to go talk to him,’ and we want back and talked to him. He gave me the details, and it really interested me.”
Diaz said she didn’t really believe she would be able to take her sport to the next level until her senior year. One of her biggest confidence boosters was actually a loss that she said she learned a lot from.
“It was against my biggest competition in district,” said Diaz, who plans to study criminal justice in college. “We went all three rounds and I didn’t get pinned. I lost but it gave me more motivation and confidence.”
Her confidence, especially in a sport where it’s one against one, also gained a boost from her mother, coaches and teammates, she said.
“This year it really hit me that it was my last year, and so I worked harder,” she said. “I didn’t have any confidence last year, but my mom and coaches and teammates just kept telling me, ‘You’ve got this.’ I just kept pushing.”
Franz said Diaz has played a major role in a somewhat fledgling program that began in 2017 and was put on hold due to COVID-19 just a couple years later. She is the third girls wrestler to continue her academic and athletic careers in college.
“Mia has helped create a legacy here for herself and the school,” Franz said during the signing ceremony. “I’m so proud of her.”
Missouri Valley College is an NAIA program in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Earlier this year, the Vikings produced two NAIA All-American women wrestlers and finished in the top 15 during the national championships.