Two female athletes at San Luis Obispo High School are not only breaking barriers but records in a male-dominated sport.
Sisters Emiri and Eve-va Sarabia spoke with KSBY during a training session at CrossFit Infierno, where their father, Santos Sarabia, coaches them. The sisters are part of the SLO High School girls wrestling team.
Santos Sarabia is a former wrestler and says wrestling is rapidly growing. He says some people might be under the impression that girls can't wrestle, which he says is not true.
“Wrestling, like the girls really wrestle," Santos said. "Yes, it’s a thing."
Emiri is a freshman and Eev-va is a sophomore. Both have already accomplished major milestones in their time on the team.
According to Santos, this February, they became the first female wrestlers in SLO High history to place at the CIF Girls Masters Tournament.
In their weight classes, Eev-va placed 7th and Emiri placed 5th. At just 14-years-old, Emiri also became the first SLO High freshman to qualify for the CIF Women’s State Wrestling Championship.
“It feels good to know (how) much work I’ve done and how far that’s brought me,” Emiri said.
Their success has not come without challenges. Santos says he coaches them outside of school due to a lack of resources for girls wrestling. Eve-va says some girls are intimidated by training alongside boys.
At the start of the school year, she says the team had 15 girls. That number dropped to 10 and now only 8 remain.
“Once the girls realize we have to share a room with the guys or that the sport is tough," Eve-va said, "they decide maybe this isn’t the right sport for them."
Both say that will not stop them and hope their story encourages more girls to join.
Emiri is now preparing to compete at the 2026 Women’s Wrestling Championship.
