It was something she had wanted to do for three years.

But she never dreamed of becoming a state qualifier.

The moment she stepped on the mat, she knew she had a unique talent.

Junior Kate Oguntoyinbo had never considered wrestling a “girls” sport.

“I was born in America, but I was raised in Nigeria and I moved back to America,” Oguntoyinbo said. “I grew up in Nigeria for about nine years. Things are really different [here]. When I moved back to America, it was a huge culture shock. We didn’t have computers, everything was all paper and obviously things were more strict over there. Now [in America], people talk back to teachers. In Nigeria we just get disciplined for that.”

Once she was a freshman, Oguntoyinbo knew she wanted to wrestle after hearing about the team and the sport from her friend, at the time freshman Sophia Martinez, in an Algebra 1 class. She realized that wrestling was something she could be good at with a little practice.

“[My] time management wasn’t the best my freshman year,” Oguntoyinbo said. “But during my sophomore year, I learned to prioritize my academics and find time to do other things I love to do, which is wrestling.”

Oguntoyinbo first got involved with Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps freshman year as a way to get involved with a school activity. She went to the JROTC room and joined as she was interested in archery but quickly found a new passion in Color Guard.

“I found love in the Color Guard, which is where they have two flags and two rifles,” Oguntoyinbo said. “I just love marching. I did that in Nigeria as well, so that also helped.”

Wrestling and JROTC gave Oguntoyinbo ways to explore her interests and provided her with a sense of safety.

“It makes me have really good self-defense just in case in the future I ever get in a situation where I need to protect myself,” Oguntoyinbo said.

Oguntoyinbo only started wrestling her junior year after her mom finally agreed to let her wrestle.

“I had to get my mom’s approval, because she was second guessing since people do get hurt a lot,” Oguntoyinbo said. “Finally, my junior year, I had an extra credit, so I just put down wrestling, and my mom told me just be safe.”

Oguntoyinbo was quickly able to learn how to set herself apart from her opponents since she wrestles in the 235-pound weight class.

“Usually people in my weight class and heavy weight class [only] want to throw you, so they don’t do all the basic movements that other wrestlers do,” Oguntoyinbo said. “So I was like ‘Hey, if they don’t do it, then why don’t I do it so they’re not expecting it?’”

Oguntoyinbo is the only heavyweight girl at Bellaire. To challenge herself, she wrestles with the boys.

“At first I was a little bit uncomfortable [wrestling with boys], but then I stepped out to get to know them, and I knew that it wasn’t anything bad,” Oguntoyinbo said. “I practice with a heavyweight guy named Emilio. He’s my wrestling partner. He helps me a lot. We do a couple of drills, and then we break down movement.”

Oguntoyinbo knows she can lean on junior Emilio Batarse for advice. Batarse was there at the 6A state championships to help Oguntoyinbo get warmed up and stay mentally engaged.

“She’s number four in the state,” Batarse said. “I was helping Kate and her training partner, so I feel like I won whenever Kate won.”

Oguntoyinbo had to go through districts and regionals to secure one of the 16 spots at the state championships. State was a two-day competition, leaving only eight wrestlers remaining after day one. Oguntoyinbo placed fourth at regionals, placing her in position to have to wrestle the winner of another region as her first match of the day.

“I was already nervous [and thinking], ‘She’s going to beat me,’” Oguntoyinbo said. “I ended up losing my first match, which discouraged me a lot, because if you lose two matches, you’re done for the whole season. I wasn’t in the right headspace, so I talked to my coach, my teammate Brody Banks and my other teammates that came to support, and they were like, ‘You got this kid, you made it [this] far.’”

Oguntoyinbo’s second match of the day would determine her season. One loss and it was over. She had to wrestle against the number one wrestler in Houston for her weight class.

“I wrestled her before, and I didn’t do so well,” Oguntoyinbo said. “So I was like, ‘I’m gonna lose. I’m gonna lose.’ But my training partner Emilio would just think of some scenarios that I would be in and try to get out of that position.”

Oguntoyinbo started strong, almost pinning her opponent. She could hear her coaches yelling for her to stay strong and finish the match.

“I ended up pinning her,” Oguntoyinbo said. “I was just so happy at that point. It didn’t even matter if I got first. My mental state was just so bad [initially] that when I won that match, I was like, ‘I can do anything.’”

Junior and fellow wrestler Jadyn Martinez was also there at state to support her friend and teammate. Martinez understands the uniqueness of making it to state as a first year wrestler. She saw something special in Kate from the first time they practiced, telling her she saw a state champion in the making.

“Not many people make it their first year wrestling,” Martinez said. “Kate is super strong and determined, and her passion is literally unmatched. If she gets a move wrong at practice, she’ll work it over and over and over again until she gets it right.”

Head wrestling coach, Coach Pettigrew, didn’t think much of Oguntoyinbo’s initial sudden interest. However, he quickly realized her drive to get better.

“If you would have told me that she would have been in the state tournament, I would have called you a liar,” Pettigrew said. “The best thing about her all year long is that she steadily progressed. She got better and better and better. And after every match, she would analyze what she did wrong, and she would make those corrections and make those changes. And eventually, wound up at the state tournament on the second day for a first year wrestler. It’s pretty impressive. “

Oguntoyinbo was set for day two. She met her coaches and teammates at school and drove over to the Berry Center in Humble, Texas. Oguntoyinbo felt unstoppable after her previous win. Everyone was there to hype her up and get her ready for her match that would determine if she would become a state medalist.

“I had a pep talk from Coach Pettigrew and Coach Ogunleye saying that we’re going to be a state medalist team and get your stuff ready to take pictures with your medal,” Oguntoyinbo said.

Oguntoyinbo lost her first match on day two of the state championship, leaving her one place short of the podium. She finished fourth in the state for the 235-pound girls weight class.

“When I did lose, I kind of felt like I let everybody down,” Oguntoyinbo said. “Things like this happen, and I’m learning from it.”

Despite her loss, Coach Pettigrew was proud of the progress Oguntoyinbo was able to make in one season.

“I see her on the podium [next year],” Pettigew said. “I see her making an impact, and I see her with a medal at state next year.”

Oguntoyinbo ended her first season of wrestling as a state qualifier and with a stronger mentality. She now considers what this sport could mean for the future.

“I hope to wrestle in the future,” Oguntoyinbo said. “I hope that in college, I can keep this passion. I think my love for the sport is what pushes me to keep going. I just love this sport so much.”

This story was originally published on Three Penny Press on March 3, 2025.