Athlete of the Week: M-A’s Alexia Bensoussan

In just her second year since taking up the sport of wrestling, Bensoussan has shot to the top of the Central Coast Section rankings, sitting at No. 1 in the 121-pound division. The sophomore affirmed the top spot last Friday at the Peninsula Athletic League girls’ wrestling championships — and earned Daily Journal Athlete of the Week honors in the process — topping the podium at 123s with a charismatic celebration after her third-round pin against Half Moon Bay sophomore Taylor Micallef.

“I’ve been preparing for this match for the longest time,” Bensoussan said. “Taylor is definitely one of my biggest competitors — very good.”

It’s the fourth time Bensoussan and Micallef have squared off this season, with Bensoussan now having bragging rights with three head-to-head victories. It was a painful loss for Micallef, who was trying to fight through a shoulder lock in the second round when the referee called for a break due to the potentially dangerous hold.

“In a competitive match, these girls would rather see their arms get ripped out then try to give a pin up,” Hoang said. “Taylor is a tough, tough kid, and she wants to compete.”

Bensoussan didn’t let up, however, and continued to work on the shoulder until she executed the pin 4 minutes, 34 seconds into the match to improve her season record to 26-9.

“I’m so proud of her,” M-A senior Anna Smith said. “She’s worked so hard to get here.”

In fact, it is night and day since Bensoussan walked into M-A wrestling tryouts a year ago as a freshman. Last season didn’t offer much opportunity for newcomers to crack the starting lineup for the Bears, who boasted a dream team of six exceptional seniors, along with one non-senior with a CCS title to her credit in Smith.

After M-A three-peated as CCS champs, the page turned on that dream team with the majority graduating out. The 2020 season, at the outset, appeared to be a rebuilding year. But, while M-A will, at best, contend for another CCS championship by a far less dominant margin, the fact is the Bears are in the conversation heading into Saturday’s CCS championships at Independence High School.

And, with Bensoussan emerging as one of five individual PAL titles earned by M-A, the team made history last Friday at San Mateo High by earning the program’s first-ever PAL team championship.

“The end of [last] season, we were probably top-five as a team (in the state),” Hoang said. “A lot of freshmen, a lot of sophomores this year. This year was just about learning how to love the sport. It’s going to be super close, in my opinion. I think it can go either way. Unlike previous years … where we’ve had a steady seven girls who were just dominant, this year it’s just, everyone is just equally contributing.”

It was going to take a lot of growth in order for the team to go on to achieve what it has achieved in 2020. And Bensoussan is the epitome of that growth after entering 2019 as an absolute beginner.

“She had no idea how to wrestle, actually,” Smith said. “She joined last year and just had no clue. That’s weird, going from knowing nothing to now.”

One of the hiccups in Bensoussan’s season was on Dec. 7 at the Half Moon Bay Girls Peninsula Wrestling Tournament. The sophomore took third place after being defeated in the semifinals by Micallef, getting taken out in the first round via pin.

“Since then I’ve been working really hard, training with my coach, working hard,” Bensoussan said.

Bensoussan’s hard work has now culminated in a PAL championship, and a joyous celebration at that. The rebuild M-A was eyeing at the start of the year was, of course, going to require talent to allow the program any hope of reestablishing its CCS dynasty. But the emotional charge Bensoussan gave her team in the wake of Friday’s win may stand as one of those thing that, while you don’t see it in the proverbial box score, is a key moment in the program’s history.

Not only did Bensoussan’s smile light up the San Mateo High School gymnasium as the referee raised her hand in victory, a majority of her M-A teammates observing from the auxiliary mat erupted in a celebration.

It was a testament to how far Bensoussan has come in the past year.

“With other sports, you can apply yourself and you won’t necessarily see improvements immediately,” Smith said. “But with wrestling, you put in that extra time, it really shows.”