'Competitive' Espinosa-Snowden finds success for Fostoria

FOSTORIA -- Anyone who went up against Ariana Espinosa-Snowden in high school athletics probably came away knowing they'd been in a fight.Whether she was on a wrestling mat, a tennis court or a softball field, Espinosa-Snowden carried a competitive demeanor. And that undoubtedly has led to the fact that when she graduates from Fostoria Junior/Senior High School this month, she will take with her nine varsity letters, just three shy of the maximum 12.She's best known for her wrestling prowess, which earned her a 90-32 high school record, three trips to the state tournament and plans for a college career in that sport. But she will also end up with three letters in softball, in which she played catcher and the outfield, and two in tennis, which saw her compete in both singles and doubles.And regardless of the sport, she could not stand losing.Espinosa-Snowden decided to give tennis a try as her fall sport after becoming disenchanted with volleyball."She's so competitive," said Jose Munoz Jr., Espinosa-Snowden's coach in both tennis and softball. "Her first match, she got beat pretty soundly and was really upset. She was sitting on the ground, and I just left her alone. "If you know Ari, she needs a few minutes to herself after being not as successful as she thought she should have been. So, she sat on the grass and pulled all this grass up and had this giant bird's nest in the middle of her," Munoz said with a smile. "I looked at her and said, 'It takes practice. You're not going to pick it up immediately.'"Espinosa-Snowden also recalled the incident with a smile, adding that she's that way regardless of the sport."When I lose, I have to walk away from everyone for, like, a good 20 minutes, and then I can take my criticism," she said. "But I need 20 minutes to cool down because I get really mad. Sometimes, when I get really mad, I cry. It's not bad, being competitive. You've just got to have people who will be competitive with you."This past season, Espinosa-Snowden led the tennis squad with seven wins while playing second or third singles. Munoz credited her with being the team's most consistent player.Wrestling has been Espinosa-Snowden's first love, and she's continued to work at it even when she's been busy with tennis or softball.She said she couldn't remember how old she was when she started in wrestling, but she was just a tyke."My brother did it and I was there kind of watching his practices," she said. "It was boring, just sitting there. I wanted to try, (My mother said), 'If you want to join, you've got to ask. The coach's name was Jesus, and he scared me. He was short and strong, and I was, like, 'I can't ask him, mom.' But I finally got up the courage and asked him, and he said, 'Yeah, why not?' It was fun. I loved it. It was definitely like nothing I'd ever done before."She, of course, didn't like losing matches to boys, but, she said, "It made me tougher, for sure."She no longer had to wrestle boys when girls wrestling became a state-sanctioned sport in Espinoza-Snowden's freshman year, and she responded with a 15-7 record and a sixth-place showing at state in the 145-pound weight class."It was nice, but I was mad," she said. "I knew I could have done better. I was not satisfied with sixth. Everyone was, like, 'You're sixth in the state. You did good; you can be satisfied.' I was, like, 'I'm not. I'm mad.'"Not placing at state the following year did not sit well with her. And coming up short of qualifying for state as a junior felt even worse and served as motivation for her senior year."I pushed myself really hard," she said. "I pushed my teammates. And I started going with the guys again. I started practicing with the girls, but I was declining a little, so I started practicing with the boys more. And you could see a difference. I need someone to be tougher on me to make me better."This year's trip to state 170 pounds ended in disappointment, as she bowed out after two matches."I should have won my first and my second match," she said. "I shouldn't have even had to wrestle a second match on the first day, but I didn't properly prepare myself and I was dehydrated. I was drinking water all day, but I didn't drink any electrolytes, so I was dehydrated and when I came off the mat, I was dizzy and my whole body was just weak -- shaking, wobbling."It was bad, but it was nice to be back down there."Now, she's playing mostly in the outfield and batting .318 for a Fostoria softball team that has six freshmen in its starting lineup and, through Wednesday, had a record of 0-13 overall and 0-9 in a strong Northern Buckeye Conference. Eight of the Lady Red's conference games have been against state-ranked teams, Munoz said.Munoz said Espinosa-Snowden struggled with maintaining her patience with the younger players early in the season, but she has learned to become a better teammate."Softball has always become my fun thing to do," she said. "But I try, and I want to help these guys as much as I can. I like seeing them grow. ... They'll get there, for sure. And, honestly, watching my cousin (Karis Lieske-Snowden) take over my spot at catcher is nice to see -- passing it down, you know. She's doing great back there, too."During a break in a recent softball practice, Espinosa-Snowden reflected on what she's most learned from wrestling as she prepares to focus on it as her lone sport in college."Discipline, honestly," she said. "It teaches you good discipline, that you've just got to push through things. It helps you with your mental state a lot. You've got to keep your mental state good. You'be got to be mentally stable, mentally good, to wrestle. It knocks you down, and hard, But you've got to learn to pick yourself up."