Sierra women's wrestling program makes debut at Wolverine Open

The Sierra College women's wrestling program made its official debut in emphatic fashion last weekend, opening the spring season by hosting the first Wolverine Open. Competing in their first tournament as a program, the Wolverines brought eight wrestlers into the field and walked away with four medals, marking a strong opening statement for the brand-new team under coach Angela Vyborny. "I know I have a group of talented young ladies, but it was nice to see them start off the season in the right direction," Vyborny said. "The medals are not the important part, but the athletes do enjoy succeeding, especially at home." The event marked the first home competition for the women's wrestling program inside the new gym, which opened in February 2025. Several Wolverines delivered standout performances. Kate Luzuriaga pinned Sacramento City's Veronika Shayhen in the first round of the 160-pound championship match to secure a title. Tara Johnson added another championship at 235 pounds, pinning Talia Katzenberger of Umpqua to cap a dominant run through her bracket. Also, Sierra's Shyra Randle claimed third place at 160 pounds, winning by technical fall over Umpqua's Arianna Mauch. Sierra's roster is made up largely of local standouts from Lincoln, Del Oro, Whitney, Roseville, Placer, Vista del Lago and more. While some wrestlers are continuing their high school careers, others are returning to the sport after time away. "I was hired shortly before the start of the school year, and I initially had five athletes on the team at the time," Vyborny said. "I put a lot of time and effort into finding young women who were still in the area that didn't wrestle when they left high school. Some left the sport for a number of years, and they have since returned now that we have a program." That growth has been rapid. Sierra enters the season with 17 wrestlers ranging in age from 18 to 28. "Our growth alone in this first season is because of local athletes who were already attending Sierra," Vyborny said. "We are building a legacy that has been a long time coming. We are so fortunate to get to build it from the ground up and make it the community that we want it to be." Vyborny emphasized that while results were encouraging, development remains the priority. "We all have things to work on to get better, but honestly, we're just getting started," said Vyborny. "This weekend was an opportunity to knock the rust off and get ready for the rest of the season. We recorded each match and will go through film before our next competition to see where we can improve and highlight what we did well." With no blueprint to follow, the first-year program is focused on setting its own standard. "We are looking for improvement this season," Vyborny said. "We want to see growth at the individual and team level. Since we are a first-year team, there is not a lot of pressure, and that's advantageous because we get to set the tone and the bar in this first year." That foundation appears to be resonating. Vyborny said interest in the program continues to grow. "We have had a lot of recruits come through that are interested in joining us at Sierra," said Vyborny. "We want to have a tough and competitive room with roster numbers comparable to our men's program. Sierra College is my 'Field of Dreams.' We are building it, and they will come." Sierra's next dual is Feb. 14 at Sacramento City College.