Yuma County breaks record sending 49 wrestlers to state tournament

Yuma high schools are sending a record number of wrestlers to the state tournament

PHOENIX (KYMA) - Yuma high schools are sending a record number of wrestlers to the state tournament, and the 2026 season could become one of the district's most successful to date.

A district-record 49 boys and girls qualified for the Arizona Interscholastic Association state tournament, which began Thursday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

The previous district record of 48 state qualifiers was set in 2016. The consistency has been just as impressive, as Yuma schools have sent at least 30 wrestlers to state every year for more than a decade.

This year, Gila Ridge High School is sending 11 boys to compete in Division I. Somerton High School, in just its third year as a school, qualified 11 boys for the Division IV tournament and seven girls for Division II.

In total, 35 boys from Yuma schools advanced to state, the most from the district since 2019.

Champions will be crowned in Phoenix Saturday.