Larissa Espinosa never set out to make history.
Especially on a wrestling mat – something she initially stepped onto more or less as a favor.
“My friend told me to do it with her, so I was just trying it out,” Espinosa recalled Wednesday morning, May 6, after indeed making Ignacio Girls’ Wrestling history as the program’s first member to accept an opportunity to continue at the collegiate level, “and I actually fell in love with the sport – I was just doing it for fun! But when I was in the wrestling room with everyone it was, like, a team but not really; you’re individually working toward your goal.”
“They all get along, work with each other, help each other with moves and how to refine them. If they have questions they always come to us and we help them out,” said IHS Girls’ Wrestling assistant coach Brad Egger. “And she’s a good listener; she’s willing to learn new moves and work on those moves.”
Having done enough of each during her still-young career to become both a leading Lady Bobcat and the program’s first three-time CHSAA State Championships placer, Espinosa put pen to paper and, in view of coaches, family, friends and school personnel assembled inside IHS Gymnasium, committed to become a scholarship student-athlete at Trinidad (Colo.) State College.
“It’s never going to be easy; you always have to continue to give that second effort. And we know Larissa has that second – and third – effort, no matter what’s going on within herself,” said IHS Girls’ Wrestling head coach Michael ‘Mich’ Napier. “Lots of tears, lots of blood, lots of sweat. Lots of summers and late nights – it’s not something that’s done easily.”
“As a college athlete myself, a lot of my technical side in my experience was reinvented. Didn’t lose anything necessarily, but it got reinvented to compete at the next level,” IHS Boys’ Wrestling head coach Jordan Larsen said. “So I think her grit – and she’s got a lot of it – will be one of the things that, if she can keep it, will lead her to some pretty high success.”
“It makes me proud,” continued the former Colorado School of Mines (NCAA Div. II) standout, “that we put together the coaching staff that we have and could give Larissa the tools needed to be where she’s at, willing to take the next step.”
“Coach Mich [‘mitch’] taught me to actually trust myself on the mat, other than going with the other person’s moves. He made me try different things I didn’t think I could do,” said Espinosa. “Larsen, he was just an amazing coach overall; he pushed everyone to their limits, pushed them towards their goals – like with Lincoln (deKay), how he got State Champion. Just, like, seeing him in the room made me think I could do so much better when he or any other coach was watching.”
“I’m more scared of not doing the best I could,” she noted. “I’m trying to work towards understanding the sport more – and actually having fun – than just being there; I want to work towards making a name for myself, and I’m scared of not.”
At TSC she’ll certainly have her chance to do so. Completing a 2025-26 campaign including a dual inside Scott Gymnasium against Wayland Baptist University – a 184-pound Napier earned NAIA All-American status for WBU in 2016, then graduated from, and started coaching at the Plainview, Tex.-based school – a skilled seven Lady Trojans totaled 21.5 points and placed 19th at the 2026 NJCAA Women’s Wrestling Invitational (a.k.a. the National Championships) held in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“I knew that I wanted to go to college, but I wanted to do something other than study,” joked Espinosa, interested in initially studying Cosmetology at TSC. “And this opportunity’s really nice because it’s not that far from home, but still far.”
“The coaches were really nice … more than other colleges that wanted me just to want me. They were, like, more personal, wanted to connect, and their group has, like, impact – they actually do stuff outside of school. That’s what really brought me to them.”
“Anytime I’m trying to help someone find their college that they want to go to, it’s important to have academic and athletic goals, but (also) personal and practical goals. And it seems like Trinidad fits the criteria that Larissa needs,” Napier said. “She’s a hard worker, has great attitude and good work ethic; I know she’ll have success in years to come.”
“Physically, mentally, she’s willing to power through a lot of stuff,” agreed Egger, “so I think she’ll be good at what she does.”
“And … hopefully the first of many, if we can keep things going with our program!” Larsen said. “Really proud of her.”
“Wrestling gave me a hope that if I want to do something, I could. Because it’s on my terms,” Espinosa said. “And I feel amazing; I get to inspire girls that don’t know if they can make it in wrestling to actually push towards goals they have in their minds. And do better than they’d think they could; if you get told ‘No,’ you have to work towards getting that ‘Yes.’”