VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Hi-Liner/Farmers Union Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Saturday, January 25, 2025 is Val Acosta Bautista.  Val is a sophomore at VCHS and wrestles at 136lb for the Hi-Liners.   Val had a terrific day of wrestling at the “Brawl for the Crown” wrestling tournament in Napoleon on Saturday January 25th.  She finished with 3 wins, 1 loss and finished in 3rd Place.  All 3 of her wins were by pin and her only loss was to the eventual tournament champion.

Coaches note: Val has improved immensely since mid season. There was a point around then (mid season) where us coaches could tell that made a level jump with her understanding of leverage and the push/pull motions on the mat.  She started the season as many first year wrestlers do, with a record well under .500.  In her past 17 matches at 136 lbs – she is 10-7.  A big part of her recent improvement and success is that she is consistently asking the coaches questions such as “What If I do this instead?”, “Will this work?,” “Will that work?”, “How come when I tried that, it didn’t work?”  Another reason is she improving quickly,  is that as soon as we show a new technique at practice, she is trying it during live wrestling drills, and figuring out if she can make it work on the competition mat.

Val answered her Wrestler of the Week Questionnaire as follows:

Parents: Alejandro Acosta & Emma Bautista

Brothers/sisters: Karen & Pablo Acosta

Pets: a dog named Snoopie

School activities/sports you’re in: soccer & wrestling

Hobbies: watching movies

Favorite class in school: Spanish

Favorite teacher since you started in Valley City: Mrs.Hokana

What do you want to be when you “grow up”?: firefighter

You moved to VC from California in July 2023. What do you miss most about California? hanging out with my friend

What do you like the most about VC/North Dakota? the calmness

Would you rather go for a walk outside when its 100 degrees calm and sticky or -10 degrees and calm? -10 degrees with the sun just hit me make me warm because i hate being sticky when it’s hot

Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible? fly

Favorite supper food: grilled chicken tacos

Favorite school lunch: spicy chicken sandwich

Favorite junk food: xxxrta flamin hot cheetos

What time do you go to bed on weekends? (where there are no tournaments): 2 a.m. ish

What time do you usually get up on weekends? (when there are no tournaments): 11 a.m. but don’t get out of bed till later 🙂

Favorite “sit down” restaurant? beer & fish company

Favorite fast food restaurant? chick-fil-a

Favorite wrestling move: three quarter nelson

Coaches Note: we just learned this move recently, and Val has already used this to pin 2 opponents!

Favorite wrestling position? (top, bottom, neutral): top

Most memorable wrestling moment so far: getting on the podium at the brawl for the crown tournament

Hardest part about the sport of wrestling: being way too hard on myself after a match that didn’t go how I’d wanted it to

What would you say to a girl that is thinking about joining VCHS Girl Wrestling?: just give it a try and if it’s not for you then that’s okay.

Wrestler of the Week is sponsored by Farmers Union Insurance, Valley City.