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She grew up testing out kickboxing, taekwondo and other forms of martial arts with her sister and dad, but wrestling never really crossed her mind.

That is until a few years ago when she began wrestling at Desert Sky Middle School.

“When I found out that I could wrestle, I thought that it sounded fun,� Varner said. “It sounded like a cool opportunity and my dad was right on board with me and encouraged me to pursue it. It just seemed like a fun thing to do, a cool experience to say that I had. I never thought it was gonna get serious, but then here I am now.�

Now, she can’t imagine a life without wrestling.

The Cienega High School sophomore is a leader within the school’s girls wrestling program — something that all started with her win in the Division I 235-pound weight class at last year’s AIA state championship.

Even after winning the state championship, Varner didn’t slow down.

This season, she holds a 25-1 record and is undefeated in the state of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ with her only loss coming from a wrestler in Texas.

Despite her near-perfect record, Varner remains humble about her accomplishments on the mat and focuses more on the experiences that help her learn and improve, instead of just the numbers.

“We’ve gone to a couple of different tournaments, one of the biggest ones being our El Paso tournament,� she said. “It was such a good experience and it was such a fun thing to be able to do that. I hope we go somewhere like that in the next two years for my junior and my senior year, because it was just such a good experience.�

With Varner’s season coming to an end last week, she says she’s excited for sectionals and the state tournament this upcoming weekend.

For Varner, competing in a primarily male-dominated sport doesn’t intimidate her.

When she first started wrestling in middle school, she often found herself dealing with other competitors’ insecurities.

“During my middle school years of wrestling, it was kind of hard because if there was a boy who was in my weight class and I beat him, it was always their teammates mocking them, like, ‘Oh, you got beat by a girl. That’s so embarrassing,’� she said. “When, in reality, it should just be you got beat. Do better next time. It shouldn’t matter whether it’s a girl or it’s a boy. It should just matter that you got beat.�

Varner’s desire to be better and can-do attitude are just a part of who she is, according to Cienega wrestling head coach Terence Hickey.

“She’s quietly very caring of people,� he said. “You won’t necessarily see it on the surface, on the outside, but I think that she truly cares about people’s well-being. … And as much as she cares about people, she doesn’t mind snapping their faces down to the mat and beating them up. But after that, she’ll give you a hug and tell you she loves you. She has that balance where she understands that life is about relationships and wrestling is about beating people up and stuff and she can balance that very well.�

One way Varner shows those around her that she cares is with her baking.

When she’s not throwing down on the mat, she’s throwing down in the kitchen by whipping up some Snickerdoodle and red velvet cookies to share with her teammates and friends.

She has yet to perfect her chocolate chip cookie recipe, but that’s coming soon, she says.

“I like seeing people smile because they have sweets and food with them,� she said.

Baking (and cooking) is something that Varner says she can see herself doing long-term, even after high school.

Although the end of her high school career is a bit away, she plans to wrestle at the collegiate level. She hopes to attend either Liberty University or Penn State.

Her coach says competing at the college level is very possible.

“If she continues on the path she’s on and she stays focused, I definitely think that is absolutely attainable,� Hickey said. “I think she can set herself up to go pretty much anywhere she wants. And over this summer, we have plans to take her to some nationally-ranked tournaments, out-of-state (tournaments) and get her more exposure so that the recruiters will know who she is.�

Before hitting the national tournaments this summer, Varner is eyeing her second state championship title in Phoenix on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Tickets are still available through (gofan.co/app/school/AIA).

“Even though it’s technically an individual sport and you’re out on the mat by yourself and there’s no one out there but you and your opponent, I do think the team is the best part,� Varner said. “At least with our team, we’re very close-knit and we’re very much like a family. I met so many great people in just a year, almost two, of being here at Cienega. I met so many people and created so many connections with different people and that’s definitely the best part of my wrestling career.�

Fast Five with Daesiah

Who is your favorite wrestler?

“Gable Stevenson. He went to the Olympics and I think that’s what caught my eye the most. My dad showed him to me. And my dad’s always been my biggest supporter when it comes to sports with me and my siblings. And so he’s a heavyweight and it just, like, called to me, like, ‘Oh, that’s really cool. If he can go that far, so can I.’�

What’s your favorite wrestling move?

“I like snapping people down. It’s just like a push and pull and then you snap when they push back, it keeps them off balance. And usually it’s hard to recover from if the person on top is fast enough. That’s probably my favorite.�

What’s your current hype song?

“‘Denial is a River’ by Doechii.�

If you could bake one thing for the rest of your life, what would you bake?

“Once I learn how to make them, chocolate chip cookies.�

What’s your favorite class?

“My favorite class currently is weights, so our strength and conditioning class. I’m really lucky that our school has that class available.�