LOS ANGELES — Adrian Escobar raced around the Roybal Learning Center gym to chase down his sister, Valeria Miranda. He wrapped his arms around her, and the tears came as the two nearly fell to the ground with emotion.
The Canoga Park wrestlers had both just won CIF Los Angeles City Section championships. Escobar won his third straight title at 113 pounds and Miranda, a 105-pound freshman, became the first Canoga Park girls wrestler to win a championship.
“He’s my whole reason why. I strive to be like him,” Miranda said. “Growing up, I didn’t have a father, so he was like a father figure to me.”
Canoga Park brother and sister Adrian Escobar and Valeria Miranda both won City Section titles just now. I’ll be writing their story later.
Here’s Adrian running to hug his sister after she won: pic.twitter.com/zjnjtLaS7B
— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) February 11, 2024
Wrestling has given the siblings opportunities to succeed in a life that otherwise seems to have shorted them. Escobar, Miranda and their three younger sisters were raised by a single mother. She couldn’t afford childcare, Escobar said, so she put him in Beat the Streets Topanga wrestling club when he was 8 years old.
Beat the Streets was founded in 2012 and offers accessible wrestling programs to Los Angeles youth, providing coaching, clinics and equipment.
“Wrestling has always helped me stay in check,” Escobar said. “There’s a lot of other kids doing not-so-good stuff and for me, I’ve always wanted my best results in wrestling. And what that means is you have to sacrifice a lot of your pleasure for your purpose.”
Miranda followed her brother in wrestling when she was 7 years old. She started off taking dance lessons but wanted to get involved in the sport when she saw her brother bringing home medals.
She was timid when she began, Miranda said, but wrestling forced her to become fearless. She lost many matches before she had a breakthrough moment during a dual…
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