In another year where girls wrestling continued to grow at the high school level, Apollo’s Mayte Lopez stood out with her efforts on the mat this year—making her the 2023 Owensboro Times Girls Wrestler of the Year.
Lopez said that she is honored to receive the award, exemplary of her hard work and accomplishments throughout the season. She tipped her cap to her coaches and teammates as well, saying that it was them supporting her that helped Mayte maximize her potential this year.
Apollo girls wrestling had a strong season themselves finishing 10th at KYWCA Girls State out of 83 teams, while Lopez herself placed second—adding onto a number of top-three placements she had in the regular season. Placing higher at state was a goal coming into the year for Mayte, as well as focusing on just enjoying herself at practice as well.
Lopez said that her teammates motivating her during matches are some of her favorite memories of the year, saying that their continued support as well as this award will push her to elevate her skills once again.
“This award is a big motivator for this upcoming season because it shows how much I’ve accomplished, and it will give me confidence for the upcoming season,” Lopez said. “What I want to improve by next year is to push myself and to stop thinking about every match I will lose. My goal for the upcoming season is to improve and just to have fun.”
Mayte said that hard work is the key to success in wrestling and that her perseverance is something that she’s relied on during the season. Hoping to continue her growth into the following season, Lopez is thankful to be doing so with a special team.
“You don’t wake up and become better,” Lopez said. “You have to practice a lot and learn from your mistakes because in my first season, I wasn’t good. I’d like to think of it as a flower that is going to grow, but not yet. As for my season, it’s a growing flower, and as of now, that flower might still be growing, and hopefully, it blooms. I’d like to thank all my coaches, teammates, and lastly, my family.”
