Lilliana Limon’s girls wrestling title was an historic moment for Sierra

The first time that Lilliana Limon got poked in the eye, she took time to gather herself and get re-focused. The second time she got poked in the eye, she got angry.

Forget about the bears that roam the hills just west of Colorado Springs. Poking this Sierra Stallion is a terrible idea.

Limon dominated through all three periods of the Class 4A 125-pound championship match, eventually beating Moffat County’s Kayla Deaton by an 18-6 major decision.

The win was the first girls wrestling championship for Sierra since the sport became sanctioned by CHSAA in the 2020-21 school year. And the accomplishment is something that Limon is proud to carry with her for the rest of her life.

“It honestly meant the world to me to represent everybody at my school and represent the people who have built me up to that moment,” Limon said. “I’m just so happy that I could give them that win as well.”

Any journey through a state wrestling tournament is emotional and Limon was determined on keeping herself centered and focused throughout our her four matches. She opened the tournament with an 18-1 technical fall over La Junta’s Mia Mendoza before pinning Bayfield’s Bailey Blouin in the first period of the quarterfinals.

Calhan’s Emersen Jack put up a strong fight in the semifinals, but Limon eventually got her shoulders pinned to mat with 22 seconds left on the clock.

A competitor in every sense of the word, the last thing that Limon wanted was an easy pathway to the top of the podium. In her mind, doing something great is only rewarding when it takes effort, work and it comes against the best that her opponents can give her.

“I love hard matches,” Limon said. “I love wrestling girls when they’re good competition. I knew some of the girls I wrestled last weekend could have wrestled a lot better and I really want to see them wrestle harder the next time we go against each other.”

The championship match wasn’t as smooth as anyone would’ve hoped as Deaton accidentally struck Limon in the eye in the opening seconds. After the referee called time and allowed everyone to settled and focused, the Sierra junior started scoring points and building her lead.

Later in the match, she took another accidental poke. It was clearly unintentional, but that’s where frustration boiled to the surface momentarily.

“I kind walked off, just walked over to my coaches,” Limon said. “I was really [mad] about it.”

There was no reason to think that she wasn’t going to end the night with her hand raised, but that moment just added fuel to the fire. Limon put together a championship-worthy performance to claim a title and cement herself as a top wrestler in the state.

In firm control of the match, she watched as the final seconds ticked away on the clock and allowed herself to appreciate the result of every bit of blood, sweat and tears she has given over the last year.

“I was watching the timer go down from about five [seconds left],” she said. “That was when it really hit me. It hit me hard in that moment watching that time go down.”

And when her hand was raised in victory, she let out an emotional scream to the delight of Ken Delahoy and Joe Roskam, her coaches on the mat, as well as her friends and family screaming from the stands of Ball Arena.

She’s a champion with a chance to defend.

And anyone paying attention should remember to not poke the Stallion.