Correa, Turnwall set the pace for Paloma wrestling team

Karissa Turnwall (left) and Makayla Correa each have three championship rings and are looking for more.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

To find evidence of the lofty status built by the Paloma Valley High girls wrestling team in such a short time, one needs to look no further than Makayla Correa and Karissa Turnwall.

With the CIF postseason still ahead of them, Correa and Turnwall already have three championship rings each. Both were members of the Wildcats team that has won two consecutive team titles at the CIF individual championships. And last year, each was an individual champion as well.

What’s left to do? Perhaps win two more rings this weekend. Two of the most decorated athletes in school history will seek another team and individual championhip in the CIF meet at Canyon Springs High. Success there could lead them even further, to the CIF Masters and State meets.

It’s no wonder coach Luis Robles has such high praise for Correa and Turnwall, who have set the standard ever since they started to help build a small Wildcats girls wrestling program as freshmen.

“They are possibly the best athlete combo to ever compete for Paloma athletics,” Robles said. “They both have been a part of two CIF championship teams and won individual championships. They are best friends and drill partners and push each other hard every day. They are great young ladies and so much fun to coach.”

Correa first met Robles when she was in sixth grade and joined the Wildcat Wrestling Club. She showed just the right kind of dedication Robles was looking for when developing a girls wrestling program that would become one of the CIF’s most powerful.

“I was always a girly girl,” Correa recalls. “I dressed up, danced, played volleyball … but I was picked on. My mom didn’t want me wrestling at first, but when she found out there was girls wrestling, she let me get into it. She said I need to get tough.”

And that she did. Wrestling at 121 pounds, she has dominated the competition again this season, including a first-place finish at last week’s Ivy League finals. And when asked about her keys to success, Correa is quick to credit others.

“My coaches,” she said. “They back me up. We have so many great coaches that there’s always a coach with an answer for me. I have a great drill partner and a great training program to follow. In the morning we lift, which has helped us all get stronger. And in practice the boys and girls work together, which has helped a lot.”

Being part of a winning program year after year is a source of pride for Correa.

“It feels great,” she said. “I’m home grown – I didn’t transfer to come here – and I helped start a legacy.”

Turnwall, who wrestles at 111 pounds, says she takes her place as a role model seriously.

“It’s all about continuing to help the program grow and inspire more young wrestlers to be great at what they do,” she said. “We have created a nice environment here. The wrestling community is super close.”

Turnwall took an interest in wrestling as an eighth grader, when she would hang around practice and watch a smaller but fast improving girls team. Also inspired by her brother who wrestled, she said she worked hard all summer before freshman year to develop the skills she would need.

“I have learned to never underestimate the competition,” she said. “I work hard to always stay focused and be ready. “I like to think I set a great example of what a good work ethic looks like.”

Last week at the league finals, the Wildcats starter at every weight class qualified for this weekend’s CIF meet. Needless to say, the future is bright. As for Correa and Turnwall, they are confident they can look back next year and see that they have left the program in good hands.

“I hope after we graduate, we can see the growth and success continue,” Turnwall said.