She’s not just one of the guys anymore.

After wrestling with them competitively the last two months, Mingus Union High School junior Aleana Cricks doesn’t see herself as a breaker of any barriers, gender or otherwise, but a strong wrestler in her own right.

“I think that every girl has the potential to do what I’m doing right now,” said the 10-2 Cricks at a practice with her sparring partner, 152-pound junior Dathan Wimer, prior to her first girls state wrestling tournament, which begins March 5 at 1 p.m. “I don’t think it has to do with a position of, like, women or men in society. It just has to do with your personal mindset. It’s just about taking the opportunity that’s there. 

“It’s not a matter of gender. It’s a matter of spirit.”

While four other girls in Cricks’ 132-pound weight class get byes out of the first round of the two-day tournament at Mesquite High School, Cricks will need her spirit to overcome her first-round opponent, undefeated sophomore Taylor McManus-Sanchez of Sunnyslope, who has pinned six of her eight opponents this season.

“The girls haven’t really done match stuff so far,” said Cricks, who joined the Division IV boys in going straight to the state tournament without sectionals this season. “Because we aren’t having qualifiers, everyone’s just going to wrestle.”

Cricks enjoyed being part of the Mingus boys’ perfect regular season but is looking forward to not just the tournament atmosphere at State--which the Coronavirus, since last March, has deprived all state high school wrestlers of--but also a chance to prove herself for the first time at that level, since she missed the tournament last year after dislocating a rib during one of her final matches of the regular season.

“I really do like being on the team with the boys because, like, I have a bunch of brothers,” Cricks said. “There’s definitely times that I wish that there was enough girls that we could have an official dual. But the girls have never had a full lineup, so we’ve never been able to wrestle other teams because there haven’t been enough of us.”

Last year, the second year the Arizona Interscholastic Association recognized girls wrestling as an official sport, Cricks’ spirit drew her towards it after she “didn’t really feel the passion” of swimming with 2020 Mingus graduate Zoey Arwine, a friend of undefeated senior and lifelong wrestler Conrad Brady. 

“She was like, ‘Hey, this is a really cool sport,’” Cricks recalled. “‘I’m a senior; let’s do it together.’

“I was, like, ‘Yeah, you know what? It seems like a sport that can really help me get rid of some aggression.’” 

While Cricks hasn’t committed to following in the footsteps of Arwine, who wrestles at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, she only wrestled with her and their four other female teammates at first. 

“She came in, like, scared and stuff,” Wimer said. “But then she opened up. It built up a lot of confidence in her.”

That change happened after the first time Cricks got slammed to the wrestling mat at practice.

“It really took a toll on my body, but I feel really stronger and more developed because of it,” she said. “After a while, I was kind of organizing live stuff with the guys for an hour of practice because I was learning things faster than some of the other girls.”

She gives some of the credit for that to Danni Schulz, a Mingus assistant last season who was Arizona’s first 225-pound girls wrestling champion. But a busy work schedule took Schulz away from the Mingus fieldhouse this season, giving most of the credit for Cricks’ development to assistant coach Dave Wilber. 

“He spends a lot of time with me,” Cricks explained. “So most of the stuff that I know, I would have to credit Dave and the boys I wrestled with, Dathan especially.”

“Life presents you with a lot of challenges,” Cricks added. “But coming into this [wrestling] room is definitely the best part of my day.”

So although Wimer says Cricks’ strength as a wrestler is in her legs, bulking up 12 pounds thanks to a weightlifting class she’s been taking, she “can definitely say Dathan’s stronger than me.”

“She’s not just a good girl wrestler,” Wimer added. “She’s a good wrestler.”

As for her head coach, whom Cricks credits for not only pushing her mentally but creating a safe environment for her to compete in, he is at the point where gender doesn’t matter with his wrestlers anymore.

“It depends on the wrestler, but for [Cricks], that’s certainly the case,” said her head coach, Klint McKean. “Danni Schulz was our barrier-breaker. She went six years with no sanctioned girls wrestling.”

Other Northern Arizona girls wrestlers representing at this year’s state tournament, listed by weight class, dual record this season and opening-round opponent:

• 106: Angie Rediger, Mohave, senior, 5-0: vs. Kylie Gerber, Gila Ridge, senior, 7-0; Alyssa Cordova, Winslow, senior, 5-3: vs. Fiona Njato, Centennial, freshman, 9-6; Jessica Haro, Coconino, junior, 1-2: vs. Tatiana Hernandez, Sunnyside, 4-0

• 113: Daniela Suttles, Mohave, senior, 4-1: vs. Alyssa Dillon, Centennial, freshman, 7-7

• 120: Riley Davila, Winslow, junior, 8-0: vs. Kyera Quezada, Desert Edge, freshman, 1-3; Jaden Finch, Round Valley, sophomore, 3-2: vs. Alejandra Gomez, Cholla, senior, 1-3; Ariel Nelson, Mohave, junior, 1-2: vs. Emily Martinez, Poston Butte, sophomore, 3-7

• 126: Izabella Salazar, Round Valley, senior, 4-1: vs. Bridgett Sotomayor, Morenci, sophomore, 9-2; Bella Marmolejo, Mohave, junior, 3-1: bye to second round vs. winner, Michalella Gladden, Marana, senior, 10-2 vs. Melanie Garcia, Thunderbird, junior, 3-2

• 132: Brooklyn Johnson, Mohave, junior, 3-1: vs. Riley Quetel, Round Valley, freshman, 3-1; Cali Bessert, Bradshaw Mountain, junior, 3-1: vs. Makenzie Matturro, Casteel, sophomore, 7-1

• 138: Sharmayn Crank, Page, senior, 1-0: bye to second round vs. winner of Ravine Nerva, Yuma Kofa, junior, 4-3 vs. Tessa Lunog, Greenway, junior, 1-2; Sharadee Sands, Holbrook, senior, 2-2: vs. Leola Govan, Cienega, freshman, 1-0

• 145: Sonora Harper, Round Valley, freshman, 6-0: vs. Christiana Morrison, Millennium, freshman, 0-0; Latasha Slim, Page, senior, 1-0: vs. Laura Smith, Mesa, senior, 4-7; Shay Maddux, Mohave, junior, 0-0: vs. Anna Barnes, Apollo, junior, 0-1

• 152: Elyna Lopez, Winslow, junior, 7-1: vs. Alexandria Zarate, Chandler, freshman, 2-1

• 160: Sierra Aho, Holbrook, sophomore, 1-4: bye to quarterfinals vs. Charleigh Harder, Cactus, sophomore, 8-0

• 170: Nova Ragnoli, Winslow, junior, 6-2: vs. Lluvia Suarez, Rio Rico, sophomore, 0-0

• 182: Leia Kalk, Winslow, junior, 5-0: bye to semifinals vs. winner, Hannah Gertis, Basha, sophomore, 5-0 vs. Amanda Yu-Ramirez, Desert Vista, freshman, 4-2

• 220: Charry Benecke, Winslow, sophomore, 7-1: vs. Kaidence Sims, Centennial, junior, 1-0