Haley Gonzales and Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez each win at Fargo high school wrestling tournament

Haley Gonzales and Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez left their mark on the USA Wrestling National Championship in Fargo, North Dakota, last month.

Gonzales (Hicksville) won the 118-pound title in the 16U Women Freestyle and Sibomana-Rodriguez (Long Beach) won the Junior Men Freestyle at 113 pounds at what is widely considered as the toughest high school wrestling tournament in the country.

Gonzales became the first Hicksville wrestler — male or female — to win a Fargo title and was recognized last week  at the Town of Oyster Bay’s Town Board Meeting, where she was presented a citation for her historic achievement.

“I was very grateful for that,” Gonzales said. “Everyone was very supportive. It was really nice.”

It was Gonzales’ second year in the tournament, and the rising junior was the No. 31 seed in the pool of 85 wrestlers.

“I don’t like to look at any rankings, so I didn’t know what I was ranked and I didn’t know what any of my opponents were ranked,” Gonzales said. “I wanted to be an All-American and once I won in the placing round to secure that, that’s when I realized that I could win the whole tournament.”

She went 6-0, knocking off the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds on her way to the title match, where she defeated No. 9 Cheyenne Frank (Michigan) via 9-3 decision.

Gonzales has only been wrestling for two years but has trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu since she was 5. Her father, Neil, co-owns East Coast MMA & Fitness in Hicksville, where Gonzales has trained her entire life. Gonzales said she began training three times a day this year leading up to the tournament.

“I know how hard she really has worked and how committed she is with everything – her training, her eating,” said Gonzales’ mother, Dawn. “It was an amazing experience to watch her win.”

“For me to see that she actually built a passion for it and really is loving the wrestling grind and the whole process, that’s what I’m really happy about,” Neil added. “She shocked a lot of the wrestling world, but I wasn’t surprised because of all the work she’s put in.”

For Sibomana-Rodriguez, it’s the start of what he hopes is an exciting junior year.

The 2022 state champion at 102 pounds and winner of January’s Eastern States Classic at 108 pounds entered the Fargo tournament as the No. 7 seed and steamrolled his way to the top of the podium.

Sibomana-Rodriguez defeated No. 5 Ayden Dodd (Ohio), 8-2, in the championship match. The six-point win was the smallest margin of victory in his seven wins.

“It’s a tribute to all the work he puts in,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. “All the practices and all the top tournaments we take him to… he really pays the price. If he keeps working hard the way that he has, the sky’s the limit.”

Sibomana-Rodriguez joins Jacori Teemer as the only Long Beach wrestlers to win the prestigious tournament. Teemer is a four-time All-American graduate student at Arizona State and was the NCAA runner-up at 156 pounds last season. He won five state championships at Long Beach.

“It definitely makes it mean a lot more that we’re the only two from Long Beach to get on that wall at Fargo,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said.

Adams and the rest of the Long Beach wrestling community have watched Sibomana-Rodriguez blossom into the program’s unquestioned leader over the last few years. The national title further cemented that sentiment.

“The more accomplishments I earn, the happier I make the Long Beach community,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said. “I love inspiring those young kids to want to come up and wrestle and get to that level.”

After placing third at the state tournament as a freshman and second as a sophomore, Sibomana-Rodriguez is ready to reclaim his crown this upcoming season.

“Just because I won Fargo doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop working hard,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said. “I’m gonna keep getting better and better and hopefully win another title. I’m excited for it.”