Incoming recruit Isabella Marie Gonzales has been named as the 2025 Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award for the West Region.
Gonzales qualified for the West Region after being named as the winner of the California TSHSEA on April 16.
The West Region was Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Gonzales is a senior at Clovis East in Fresno, California where she is an incoming member of the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2025.
In the final National Girls High School Rankings Gonzales was #3 overall in the P4P rankings and #1 at 120 lbs.
From TheMat.com:
West Region: Isabella Marie Gonzales of Fresno, California was a three-time California girls state champion and a four-time state finalist for Clovis East High School. She teamed with her sister, Sophia Marie, and Jaelyn Unpingco to win the girls team title at the California state championships in 2025. The trio combined for 13 falls, one technical fall and one major decision.
The daughter of Geoffrey and Jennifer Gonzales, she will continue her career at the University of Iowa. Gonzales is ranked No. 1 at 120 pounds and No. 3 in pound-for-pound in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, USA Wrestling and FloWrestling National Girls High School Rankings. Gonzales competed for the United States and finished fifth in the 2024 United World Wrestling U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan, and won a gold medal in the 2023 U17 Pan American Games in Mexico City, Mexico.
She also won gold medals at the U15 Pan American Games in 2022 and 2021. Named Outstanding Wrestler at the 2023 California state tournament, Gonzales was a four-time California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Masters champion, twice being named Outstanding Wrestler, and a four-time CIF Central Section Area champion, being named Outstanding Wrestler all four years. She is a three-time USA Wrestling freestyle national champion and a two-time folkstyle national champion. Gonzales is a five-time California freestyle state champion, a four-time California Greco-Roman state champion, and a three-time California folkstyle state champion.
A member of the National Honor Society, she was four-time member of the high honor roll and a three-time member of the principal’s honor roll. Gonzales is a Big Brothers and Sisters of Central California Ambassador and also volunteers as a mentor and coach at FEARLESS, a nonprofit free of charge youth wrestling club.
TSHSEA winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.
The award is named for four-time World champion Tricia Saunders who was the first woman from the United States to win a World title and to be inducted as a Distinguished Member into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame.
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