MOSES LAKE — Big Bend’s newest women’s wrestling coach Desiree Zavala is a Washington native who comes to the program with goals of competing at the national level.

“I’m very excited,” Zavala said. “I think that Big Bend has all the resources need to have a great team. A couple years ago they were national champions, so I am coming into a team that needs a lot of growth but has a lot of opportunities. I’m excited about that.”

A former wrestler herself, Zavala brings plenty of experience to the Big Bend Program. Zavala is a four-time WIAA champion out of Grandview High School, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national champion, a U23 national champion, a multiple-time All-American and a senior national team member.

Even with all that experience, she said the biggest takeaway from her wrestling career was the life lessons learned from the sport.

“Me experiencing all of these different, big things — wrestling all over the country and around the world — it’s really helped me realize that all that stuff is cool and all the things I’ve accomplished is cool, but really it’s more of the life lessons that you learn from wrestling, competing, training, staying disciplined and dedicated that I think are more important,” Zavala said. “Those qualities that wrestling brings to you (will) carry on your whole life.”

Having plenty of experience on the mat also helps with relating to the current and incoming Big Bend wrestlers, she said.

“I feel like it helps me connect with the athletes because I know what it takes to be a successful college student-athlete because it’s really hard,” Zavala said. “It’s super hard to manage your class schedule, your grades, your social life, your personal life and your practices and stay on top of everything. I think having somebody that’s been there and done that is going to be really encouraging for them.”

Since Zavala came to Big Bend late in the recruiting process for the 2023-24 school year, she said her goal is to fill out a solid roster for this upcoming season before focusing on local wrestlers in the future.

“I think Big Bend is in a good location because Washington has such good women’s wrestling here,” Zavala said. “I’m going to focus on trying to get local talent and to really try to build Washington wrestling and help progress our athletes in the state as well as looking in nearby states.”

With previous coaching experience at Grays Harbor and Wayland Baptist, this will be Zavala’s first stint as a head coach.

“Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a college coach,” Zavala said. “Wrestling is a big passion of mine, and I love being involved with the sport and helping others.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.