Sophomore Julianne “Julie” Cimarusti broke school records during her 2024-2025 wrestling season. She placed at numerous competitions during the end of February like the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Individual Championships where she earned second place overall. Then going to the CIF-Southern Section Masters Championship she wrestled against competitors from over 500 schools in the 140 pound weight class before continuing to CIF State Championship competing against another 1,600 schools. She ended with a three-match winning streak and is now ranked 12th place in California.
Cimarusti’s passion for wrestling began during the summer of seventh grade when she began to practice due to the guidance of her brother and father who also wrestled. With the motivation and guidance from her friends and family, Cimarusti has now become a top wrestler.
As Cimarusti began her journey, she did not have her ideal physique, which caused her to be physically slower in the sport. Along with her dad and brother, former University of Iowa wrestler and 24th four-time All-American Austin DeSanto, was an inspiration to Cimarusti, in which his accomplishments and strength motivated her to lose weight, resulting in her becoming faster and stronger.
Leading up to the matches in CIF, Cimarusti experienced points where she did not feel confident in her abilities which caused her to contemplate giving up. Her diet was also limited; some days she would only eat an apple.
Though her training was intense and challenging she stayed consistent, because she knew if she wanted to improve, she would have to be aggressive. Once that decision was made Cimarusti stayed consistent and leaned on her coaches for support.
“I just sit there and think about it, like ‘why am I doing this?’ I do it because I love the sport, so I kept reminding myself of that before CIF, and kept reminding myself how much I wanted it and how hungry I was for that medal,” Cimarusti said.
Cimarusti recalled how her matches between CIF and masters were the times she didn’t wrestle at her best as the pressure to perform clouded her mindset and hindered her potential. Stepping into Masters, Cimarusti felt the change in the way she performed and reported that the pressure transformed into feelings of enjoyment.
“Masters is when I had fun, when I didn’t just think about finals. You have to take it one match at a time, and that’s what I realized after CIF. So CIF was a for sure learning experience,” Cimarusti said.
To overcome mental barriers she took to strategies like praying, listening to her favorite music artists, and reminding herself of her family’s support. Those around her were reminders that she was meant to be there and that the effort she put in during the season was what ultimately got her in that position.
“It just made me more confident because I did put in the work. I put in work all off season to be where I was, and I needed to remind myself of that,” Cimarusti said.
As wrestling is a male dominated sport, Cimarusti believes that when girls who want to wrestle begin getting into the flow of the sport and improving their skills, they’ll also begin to feel comfortable in the environment, while gaining more confidence.
“Don’t be intimidated, just find your flow, find the way you like to wrestle. You gotta really just be confident in yourself, because like everybody else, is learning just as much as you are,” Cimarusti said.
As Cimarusti reflects on her season and her accomplishments, she is still striving for more. With two more high school years left, she hopes to go to Iowa for college after graduation, just like one of the wrestlers she looks up to, Spencer Lee, who wrestled in Iowa.
“I want to be top five in state, or top three for sure. I want to make it farther than I did this year, and this off season, I’m gonna be training like crazy, but that’s it. I’m gonna be one of the best in the state,” Cimarusti said.
