Girls Athlete of the Week – Emily Loya, Dumas

Emily Loya, Dumas wrestling, Sr. 

On the mat: Dumas put six girls on the medal stand to defend its District 3-5A wrestling championship last Saturday. Highlighting the team was senior leader Emily Loya, who won her third straight district title in the 126-pound division. Loya was dominant going 3-0 at the tournament capping off her championship by pinning Caprock’s Michelle Macedo in 1:53. Loya, who has made two appearances at the UIL Class 5A state wrestling meet over the past two years, is 33-2 on the season and will compete at the Region I-5A meet on Friday and Saturday in Canyon.

Coach Chris Holzworth: “To be able to defend our district championship was an amazing accomplishment. We have a lot of the same team from last year, so we knew we just needed to go in and do our jobs. That’s exactly what Emily does. She is motivated and wrestled that way at the district meet. She works so hard and has such a drive to always make herself better. Even from last year, she’s come leaps and bounds because of the time she takes practicing and making herself better. All she does is work on exploiting her weaknesses so no one else can.”

Loya: “It was an amazing feeling for my teammates and I to be able to defend our district championship from last year. That was a goal coming into the season. We have a lot of experience and we’re all very close. For myself, to win a third straight district championship is an awesome feeling. I’ve put in a ton of hard work and It’s paying off. I’m a completely different wrestler than last year and I’m motivated to push myself to get back to state and have a great showing.”

About Loya

Favorite band or musician: Drake

Favorite social media platform: TikTok

Favorite athlete: Helen Maroulis

Bet you didn’t know: She loves cheesy romantic love novels.

Parents: Jose and Diana Loya