Hearts of champions

TACOMA/FEDERAL WAY — Nearly 50 athletes from the Columbia Basin competed at the state wrestling and swimming competitions, five of them walking away as state champions. The Columbia Basin Herald spoke to three of those five shortly after they won their titles to see what it takes to have the heart of a champion.

The three were Quincy High School junior Trenten Calloway, Moses Lake High School sophomore Ashley Dayana Naranjo and Moses Lake High School junior Bianca Johnson.

Calloway became a state champion after taking first place in the 100-yard butterfly at the WIAA Boys Swimming and Diving Competition at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.

Johnson and Naranjo became state champions after taking first place in their respective weight classes, 120 pounds and 115 pounds, at the WIAA Mat Classic XXXIII at the Tacoma Dome.

Some common themes the three champions spoke about include hard work, years of dedication and a love for their respective sports.

Calloway, a junior, said he has been swimming since he was 4 years old. For the past 10 years, he’s been swimming with Wenatchee Velocity, a club league that swims year round.

“I knew I had it in me, but I knew he probably had it in him too, so it was just down to who out-touched the other,” said Calloway, referring to touching the wall of the pool ahead of Kingston’s Rocco Velie, who placed second by only 0.11 seconds.

Calloway said he plans to swim in college, but doesn’t know where he would want to go yet. He explained that he wants to swim in college because he loves the sport. He doesn't want to go to too big of a school because he doesn’t want to take away from enjoying swimming and wants to be close to his coaches and teammates.

Calloway said he has people to thank for helping him excel as a swimmer.

“Definitely, my coaches. I’ve been swimming for 11 years and been through a dozen coaches. We have good ones and we have bad ones, but having a good coach that I can connect with really motivates me to get back in the pool every day,” said Calloway.

Johnson said she felt like the state tournament and subsequent championship was mostly a mental challenge. She said she knew she had put in the physical work and the biggest challenge was being mentally prepared for matches, not psyching herself out about how much she wanted to win.

“Honestly, I put in a lot of extra work (compared to) the normal high school season,” Johnson said.

She also said she has been wrestling for about 10 years and that she would have been happy even if she hadn’t taken first place.

“Honestly, as long as I give it my all, I win,” said Johnson.

Johnson said wrestling means a lot to her, especially since she had been hitting the mat since she was very young. She said winning the title was a milestone in her career, and she hopes to take home the state championship next year as well.

This was Naranjo’s first year wrestling with Moses Lake High School. Due to restrictions to the season due to COVID-19, she decided to not participate her freshman year. Coming in this season, she admitted, she thought it would be a very challenging year with a lot of upsets.

“I thank God every day that he helped me through it and I got what I wanted,” she said.

Naranjo said it felt amazing to win the championship, that it was something she had been waiting for for a long time. She also said how much work and effort she put into earning the title.

“Working hard for it, wrestling year round, and now I'm a state champion,” Naranjo said.

Naranjo, like Johnson, has wrestled for about 10 years, and her favorite part is being in the wrestling environment.

“I just love it,” Naranjo said.

Naranjo said it took all of her power and strength to become a state champion. She said you have to give it everything you’ve got and work hard every day.

“I left it all out on the mat today,” said Naranjo.

Rebecca Pettingill can be reached via email at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.