Mitchell Middle School wrestlers Erica Banks and Aubrey Vasquez-Paz show off their silver and bronze medals at the Girls Middle School State Wrestling Championships in San Leandro on March 29.

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Coming off impressive wins at the Sacramento Regional Wrestling championships last month, Mitchell Middle School Marauders Erica Banks (107 pounds), Aubrey Vasquez-Paz (112 pounds), and Jayden McCullar (145 pounds) from Mitchell Middle School in Rancho Cordova competed at the Girls Middle School State Wrestling Championships in San Leandro on March 29. 

The tournament hosted wrestlers from 47 schools or clubs throughout Northern California with 188 competitors. The three star Mithell wrestlers garnered enough team points to place sixth-place overall, beating out a vast majority of the competition with much larger teams. The Mitchell wrestlers took advantage of the extra time before the championships to train and increase their conditioning with drills, plyometric interval training and long runs. 

This was Banks’ second trip to the Girls State Meet and the returning champion from 2024.  Banks, competing in the 107-pound weight class, arrived after another successful season and winning the Regional Girls Championship in February. Banks was seeded No. 1 over her competition and dominated the competition with decisive wins to reach the finals. In her final match of the day, Banks showcased her athleticism by putting her opponent on her back to lead after the first round. However, her opponent showed she had grit and overcame the deficit in the second and third rounds to beat Banks by points, securing a second-place finish for Banks.  

Erica Banks square off with an opponent at the Girls Middle School State Wrestling Championships in San Leandro on March 29.

First-year wrestler Vasquez-Paz won second-place at the Regional Championships in February and started her day with a strong win but found herself needing to wrestle tough to stay in contention for a medal after losing her second match of the day. Vasquez-Paz won her next two matches (one by points and one by pin) for the third-place win.

McCullar earned first-place at the Regional Championships. This was McCullar’s second trip to the state championship where she hoped to reach the podium. McCullar used her strength to power through her first-round opponent with an early pin. However, her second-round match proved to be just as strong and outwrestled McCullar, moving her into the consolation bracket. McCullar’s resilience shined brightly and she pinned her next opponent in the third-round match and was able to advance where she again found a worthy opponent in her fourth-round match, who stifled her chances to reaching the podium this year with a narrow 9-7 loss.  

“We couldn’t be prouder of them. It’s been fun watching them improve and a real honor to coach them this year,” said coach Joe Zilles on behalf of the coaching staff (Stacy Adair, Devon Banks and John Marshall). 

All three girls are top-notch students. Banks won the team MVP award this season for her leadership and Vasquez-Paz and McCullar won coach’s awards for their fearless and tenacious drives throughout the year.  All three girls are off to high school next year where they plan to continue competing at the highest levels. 

Go big blue!

Jayden McCullar has her hand raised after winning her match.