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She grew up testing out kickboxing, taekwondo and other forms of martial arts with her sister and dad, but wrestling never really crossed her mind.

That is until a few years ago when she began wrestling at Desert Sky Middle School.

鈥淲hen I found out that I could wrestle, I thought that it sounded fun,鈥� Varner said. 鈥淚t sounded like a cool opportunity and my dad was right on board with me and encouraged me to pursue it. It just seemed like a fun thing to do, a cool experience to say that I had. I never thought it was gonna get serious, but then here I am now.鈥�

Now, she can鈥檛 imagine a life without wrestling.

The Cienega High School sophomore is a leader within the school鈥檚 girls wrestling program 鈥� something that all started with her win in the Division I 235-pound weight class at last year鈥檚 AIA state championship.

Even after winning the state championship, Varner didn鈥檛 slow down.

This season, she holds a 25-1 record and is undefeated in the state of Arizona with her only loss coming from a wrestler in Texas.

Despite her near-perfect record, Varner remains humble about her accomplishments on the mat and focuses more on the experiences that help her learn and improve, instead of just the numbers.

鈥淲e鈥檝e gone to a couple of different tournaments, one of the biggest ones being our El Paso tournament,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was such a good experience and it was such a fun thing to be able to do that. I hope we go somewhere like that in the next two years for my junior and my senior year, because it was just such a good experience.鈥�

With Varner鈥檚 season coming to an end last week, she says she鈥檚 excited for sectionals and the state tournament this upcoming weekend.

For Varner, competing in a primarily male-dominated sport doesn鈥檛 intimidate her.

When she first started wrestling in middle school, she often found herself dealing with other competitors鈥� insecurities.

鈥淒uring my middle school years of wrestling, it was kind of hard because if there was a boy who was in my weight class and I beat him, it was always their teammates mocking them, like, 鈥極h, you got beat by a girl. That鈥檚 so embarrassing,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淲hen, in reality, it should just be you got beat. Do better next time. It shouldn鈥檛 matter whether it鈥檚 a girl or it鈥檚 a boy. It should just matter that you got beat.鈥�

Varner鈥檚 desire to be better and can-do attitude are just a part of who she is, according to Cienega wrestling head coach Terence Hickey.

鈥淪he鈥檚 quietly very caring of people,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou won鈥檛 necessarily see it on the surface, on the outside, but I think that she truly cares about people鈥檚 well-being. 鈥� And as much as she cares about people, she doesn鈥檛 mind snapping their faces down to the mat and beating them up. But after that, she鈥檒l give you a hug and tell you she loves you. She has that balance where she understands that life is about relationships and wrestling is about beating people up and stuff and she can balance that very well.鈥�

One way Varner shows those around her that she cares is with her baking.

When she鈥檚 not throwing down on the mat, she鈥檚 throwing down in the kitchen by whipping up some Snickerdoodle and red velvet cookies to share with her teammates and friends.

She has yet to perfect her chocolate chip cookie recipe, but that鈥檚 coming soon, she says.

鈥淚 like seeing people smile because they have sweets and food with them,鈥� she said.

Baking (and cooking) is something that Varner says she can see herself doing long-term, even after high school.

Although the end of her high school career is a bit away, she plans to wrestle at the collegiate level. She hopes to attend either Liberty University or Penn State.

Her coach says competing at the college level is very possible.

鈥淚f she continues on the path she鈥檚 on and she stays focused, I definitely think that is absolutely attainable,鈥� Hickey said. 鈥淚 think she can set herself up to go pretty much anywhere she wants. And over this summer, we have plans to take her to some nationally-ranked tournaments, out-of-state (tournaments) and get her more exposure so that the recruiters will know who she is.鈥�

Before hitting the national tournaments this summer, Varner is eyeing her second state championship title in Phoenix on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Tickets are still available through (gofan.co/app/school/AIA).

鈥淓ven though it鈥檚 technically an individual sport and you鈥檙e out on the mat by yourself and there鈥檚 no one out there but you and your opponent, I do think the team is the best part,鈥� Varner said. 鈥淎t least with our team, we鈥檙e very close-knit and we鈥檙e very much like a family. I met so many great people in just a year, almost two, of being here at Cienega. I met so many people and created so many connections with different people and that鈥檚 definitely the best part of my wrestling career.鈥�

Fast Five with Daesiah

Who is your favorite wrestler?

鈥淕able Stevenson. He went to the Olympics and I think that鈥檚 what caught my eye the most. My dad showed him to me. And my dad鈥檚 always been my biggest supporter when it comes to sports with me and my siblings. And so he鈥檚 a heavyweight and it just, like, called to me, like, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 really cool. If he can go that far, so can I.鈥欌��

What鈥檚 your favorite wrestling move?

鈥淚 like snapping people down. It鈥檚 just like a push and pull and then you snap when they push back, it keeps them off balance. And usually it鈥檚 hard to recover from if the person on top is fast enough. That鈥檚 probably my favorite.鈥�

What鈥檚 your current hype song?

鈥溾�楧enial is a River鈥� by Doechii.鈥�

If you could bake one thing for the rest of your life, what would you bake?

鈥淥nce I learn how to make them, chocolate chip cookies.鈥�

What鈥檚 your favorite class?

鈥淢y favorite class currently is weights, so our strength and conditioning class. I鈥檓 really lucky that our school has that class available.鈥�