Sophomore Princess Lopez smiled to her older brother, Class of 2021 graduate Mickio Lopez; it had been months since he left for college. Then Mickio slammed Princess to the ground.

“Get up, let’s go again,” Mickio told Princess.

They’ve bonded through martial arts since 5 years old, taking jujitsu at their local gym. This spar felt heavier though. Her state wrestling qualification was at stake, and Princess refused to let her brother down.

So she got up from the ground, smiled again and got to work.

That work brought her state dreams true Feb. 6, placing second in the Region 2-6A wrestling tournament. But three days before state, Princess sprained her leg tendon and dropped from the tournament, along with her dream.

“I was proud of myself for making it but was really sad,” Princess said. “All the practice that I have done just to place and qualify for state and not be able to wrestle for state. It was just sad.”

Growing Up

Princess’s parents placed Mickio and her in martial arts since she could walk. Growing up in martial arts gyms, jujitsu taught her how to build relationships.

“They made me feel like it was a family, I mean it was all I did,” Princess said. “I got close to a lot of people. Being able to have that connection with someone, I guess it just encouraged me to keep talking to people to have more connections with them.”

Mickio largely raised Princess most their life as their dad worked in San Antonio. In 2023, their mother had a stroke and moved in with their dad for two years, leaving Mickio to care for Princess and their younger brother alone.

“Because of that, it’s a very strong bond that we have,” Mickio said. “And on top of that, we also bond over wrestling as well. I used to take my siblings to the gym. And every now and then, in the kitchen or in the living room, we would wrestle for a few minutes just having fun with it.”

By 12 years old, Princess played for recreational teams like Next Level, Gracie Humaitá Jiu-Jitsu and Elite MMA. Mickio, who competed on the Caney Creek wrestling team at the time, remained her inspiration.

“He was really good,” Princess said. “So I wanted to be good too to make my brother proud. (Watching him compete) I would think to myself like, ‘I want to be exactly like him.’”

Princess joined the wrestling program’s K-8 youth summer camp in eighth grade with Mickio driving her to the practices. There, she met head wrestling coach Jacob Ferguson who said she already stood out.

“The maturity level was always there,” Ferguson said. “We would have 30 to 40 kids in there at a time, and she was always one of the ones that you only had to tell something once to. Always real coachable, and I mean she’s definitely grown since then.”

On The Team

Princess started wrestling her first day of high school, making most of her friends through her sparring. But when tournament season came, she lost every game along with her love for wrestling.

“(I felt like my brother) thought I was going to be really good,” Princess said. “And since I kept losing I felt like I was kind of a failure. He’s kind of like a dad – a father figure. He’s driven me so many places to get practice, go to tournaments. I don’t want to waste all of that and not really win.”

Hiding from the feeling of failure, Princess stopped attending practices by the third tournament of the year. Princess only returned after Mickio – who temporarily quit his sophomore year – and Ferguson warned she would regret it.

“I just told her ‘You have got to stick to it and you’ll be good,’” Ferguson said. “‘You will be good, you just got to get through this part. Yeah, this part sucks but you got to get through. It’s something everybody has to go through.’”

Break Through

Princess took that advice and won her first returning singles match on Jan. 11, 2025 at the Chicken Wing invitational. She and Ferguson said it marked the turning point in her wrestling confidence.

“My first thought was just ‘Finally,’” Princess said. “I was just smiling. I was really happy about it, and my friends were proud too.”

Princess won a match in nearly every tournament after. While she fell short from advancing past region that year, she entered sophomore year hungry for state and looking to one-up her brother who failed to compete at state.

“I felt really hyped up and excited to compete,” Princess said. “But I felt like I still didn’t have the potential be better than my brother. I still felt proud of myself though for growing with wrestling, doing better and having a better body and mindset.”

Princess qualified for regionals again this year, but instead of celebrating, her mind switched to the state tournament looming a week away. Coaches and her were confident but on the day of regionals, but she still felt sweaty.

“I was so nervous going in,” Princess said. “My first two matches, they were pretty easy – light work. But then I had went to the semi-finals and it was pretty challenging, but I still pushed through and my coaches were very proud.”

Taking the silver medal, Princess and Mickio got to work training together for state. Mickio wanted Princess to surpass himself.

“Her growth has been exponential,” Mickio said. “I am very proud to see how much she has grown over the past years, especially in the sport itself as well, to the point to where she has surpassed my legacy.  And it makes me happy to see how well she’s doing.”

Learning Loss

During practice on Feb. 10, Princess offered to take extra one-on-one reps from her teammates. As her opponent pinned her in an awkward position, she felt a pop in her leg followed by sharp pain.

“I was just in shock,” Princess said. “I didn’t really think I was going to get injured. I thought I was still going to be able to wrestle with it. But then when I got home I couldn’t really walk that good.”

Doctors told Princess she had to drop from the state tournament.

“I just distracted myself,” Princess said. “Watching the state tournament was sad for me because that something I wanted to do. But I mean, I was proud of them too. I was just happy to be there.”

In the two months since then, Princess turned to her family for support. Mickio said he is confident she will qualify for state again in her coming years.

“It’s a good thing to lose every now and then,” Mickio said. “To give you that feeling of what it’s like to lose, and give you the motivation to work even harder. At the very least, it teaches you to be mentally stronger. That’s one of the biggest things that I want (my siblings) to learn.”

Doctors cleared Princess from her injury March 25. On her return to wrestling, she said she felt even more motivated to advance to state than before.

“I want to make up for my sophomore year,” Princess said. “I just want to make my coaches proud; my brother proud. (I want other athletes to learn) to just have fun with the sport and make friends. Get out of your own head.”

This story was originally published on Creek Compass on April 7, 2026.