After a fantastic season from the Lady Dino, Madison Arroyo was invited to be on the Utah Elite team. She was invited to represent the Carbon girls wrestling team for the Folkstyle Nationals held in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
“I would first like to thank everyone who helped me get here. I had so much love and support from my community and I was excited to represent our Lady Dinos, but the community as well,” said Arroyo. “I had a lot of help preparing from Coach Paul Neese, Coach Jamill Tapia, Taci Tapia, my wrestling partner Dazi Thatcher and, of course, my family!”
Arroyo had a big win over Kaylyn Davis of Missouri, getting her a spot in the third-place match. She battled hard, but fell to Jinet Demanou of White Bear Lake Wrestling. Still claiming the fourth-place podium at the event.
“If it ain’t yours, don’t worry about it,” was a quote Arroyo would tell herself before her matches that was said by her coach. “One way I like to prepare myself is just having fun and staying in a good mood leading up to my matches. Once my match gets closer, I like to put my music on and get focused. I would say staying focused is the biggest thing that you have to do to be ready to wrestle. And just remembering that win or lose, you’ll gain something from the match.”
Next, she plans to participate in Women’s Nationals in Spokane, Washington. She has represented Carbon well, becoming the Lady Dinos first All-American as a Sophomore and will continue to do so for years to come in the growing sport.