Prep wrestling: San Marin’s DeKeyrel battles her way back to NCS

American Canyon High’s Sanaiya Owens might have thought for a moment she had the advantage when she got San Marin High junior Catania DeKeyrel off her feet in their gold medal match, but DeKeyrel flipped the situation in a second.

Owens with the scored first with the takedown of DeKeyrel as they battled Saturday in the inaugural North Coast Section Redwood Empire Championship. DeKeyrel quickly got on top of Owens, attacking Owens’ upper body to try to turn her on her back, while Owens tried to force a break by escaping the circle. DeKeyrel got control of Owens’ right shoulder with the back mount — one of her favorite moves — for the turn and the pin to take the 155-pound division victory.

“I wrestle like a Jiu Jitsu fighter. I follow all the rules of wrestling, but I use Jiu Jitsu moves with a wrestling tweak,” said DeKeyrel, who has been practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since she was 4 years old. “I use more throws than some other people.”

DeKeyrel, a multisport athlete who also plays tennis for the Mustangs, knew basically nothing about the sport of wrestling when she stepped on to the wrestling mats at San Marin High as a freshman. But she was already an experienced fighter, so she was ready to step into the circle.

“When I was a freshman, I had no background in wrestling at all, no knowledge of the rules,” DeKeyrel said. “As a sophomore, I started to develop a style for myself, and I’ve continued doing that this year.”

DeKeyrel now prepares to step into the wrestling circle at the NCS Championships, Friday and Saturday, at James Logan High in Union City. For the first time in recent memory, the boys and girls championships are being held together.

“When I was 3, my dad was getting his tires changed and my dad was looking at the martial arts studio nearby when a guy came over to my dad and said he should get his daughter into Jiu Jitsu,” DeKeyrel said.

The only hitch was that she had to wait until her fourth birthday before she could enroll at the studio, but as soon as she was old enough, Dallas DeKeyrel signed his daughter to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and has been one of Catania’s most ardent supporters in the bleachers for every tournament. She has trained with Tryfon Stathopoulos at North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Novato, racking up six wins, three by submission, over the past three years.

Stathopoulos saw his own daughter help lead the girls wrestling ranks in Marin County. Luana Stathopoulos was a three-time All-MCAL Female Wrestler of the Year, from 2022-24, at Novato and Redwood high schools.

This will be DeKeyrel’s third trip to the NCS championships, after finishing seventh as a freshman and placing fourth at 140 pounds last year. She has had an impressive season, taking first place at both the San Lorenzo Grizzly Grapple Classic and Concord’s Girls Contest of Champions, and second place at four other tournaments: Tokay’s Goddess of War, the Albany Girls Tournament, Napa Valley Girls Classic and the Goddess of the Vine.

She took gold as the only entrant in her class at the MCAL Girls Championship, a welcome rest before the Redwood Empire Championship.

“I’m at a point in my season where I’ve been wrestling for about five months and a few days of rest can be better than a few days of wrestling sometimes,” said DeKeyrel, who is 33-4 this season.

And DeKeyrel continues to improve and grow with every match. She’ll need to be at her best for NCS, where she might have to get past defending NCS 150-pound champion Symone Jewell of Northgate, who has beaten DeKeyrel twice this season.

“Every time I win, of course it’s a good feeling,” DeKeyrel said. “I can see the growth, but it’s less about me beating the people, and more about me doing something, accomplishing something.”