SELMA – The Team Selma Club Girls’ Wrestling team shook the ground in a fury of fighting dominance at one of the most prestigious amateur wrestling events in the nation. And with this most recent performance, this young group once again proved their gladiatorial might on the mat.
Team Selma packed one heck of a punch at the 2026 USA Wrestling Women’s National Championships tournament in Spokane, Washington from April 9-12. In a tournament filled with several of the nation’s top young fighters, all vying for roster spots on the Pan American and U.S. teams, Selma’s presence was definitely felt throughout The Podium arena.
“So, it’s the USA Women’s Nationals – we’ve had champions and competitors at this tournament in the past,” said Team Selma Club coach Ricky Morales. “It’s something that we can register for and attend every year. This year, we ended up having ourselves a pretty good group. At this tournament, specifically, we’ve had three girls make a final and either put themselves on a World team or a Pan Am team.”
This feeder club, K-12 program in the Selma area put on an impressive display of wrestling prowess. And when it was all said and done, fighters such as Addy Anes, Emme Anes, Presley Furlong and Kimberley Vasquez had left their marks.
According to information provided by Morales, Addy Anes (Double All American) finished second in Greco and third in Freestyle.; Emme Anes (Double All American) finished second in Greco, fifth in Freestyle; Furlong (All American) placed fifth in Greco;Â and Vasquez (All American) placed fourth in Freestyle.
Regardless of their place on the championship podium, Morales believes this tournament was a great way for participating athletes on Team Selma’s roster to continue their development. Several of these fighters, some as young as eight-years-old, shined bright for their community and their country.
“The good thing about this tournament is, it’s 8U all the way up to U23’s – so, 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U – it’s a national tournament for them,” said Morales. “Everything 15 and up is a chance to compete to represent the U.S.A.”
Living up to lofty expectations
Team Selma is definitely no featherweight when it comes to big time competition on a national level.
According to Morales, former wrestlers Gracie Figueroa, Alada Martinez and Melanie Mendoza are just three of the former club members who helped lay the foundations of success for future generations of fighters.
“The past World Team members that we have – three World Team members or Pan Am members through Selma, it was Gracie Figueroa, Alada Martinez and Melanie Mendoza – they’re more or less our trailblazers,” said Morales. “Our younger girls have seen them compete.”
As this season’s batch of young athletes follows in some mighty big footsteps, the expectations of success remain grandiose, even with a fairly inexperienced group. So Morales hopes that this tournament will help his squad eventually reach their full potential down the road.
“I think it’s going to be a testing ground, to see where we’re at as far as a team, just because we’re a younger group,” said Morales. “A lot of these girls, it’s going to be their first or second time attending the tournament, so we’re more or less jumping in and either going to sink or swim – but it’s something that we need to be able to expose these girls to in order to see where we’re at.”
