Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Burlingame’s Lauren Aguilar

“She walks around campus like she does at a tournament,” Burlingame head coach Ernesto Nunez said.

Aguilar has been named Daily Journal Athlete of the Week for her performance at Burlingame’s most recent tournament. Earning second-place in the 123-pound division at the MidCals Classic at Gilroy High School, Aguilar posted a 4-1 record against some of the toughest competition in the state. She recorded four first-round pins before falling in the finals to Granada sophomore Maile Nguyen, the top seed at 123s.

It was Aguilar’s first trip to MidCals. She could have competed at the prestigious tournament last year, but it would have been quite a tall order. With transfer rules forcing her to sit out the first six weeks of her sophomore season, Aguilar had been cleared to compete just prior to the event. During the mandatory sit-out period in 2023, Aguilar was prohibited not only from competing for Burlingame, but practicing with the team as well.

“It definitely did cause a bump in the road,” Aguilar said. “I wish I was able to be in the room, but I found ways around it. … I worked out on my own and I conditioned as much as I could before I was able to be back on the mat, be back in the room with my team.”

The junior is now flourishing in her first full season with the Panthers.

Known as “L.E.” — for her first and middle names, Lauren Elizabeth — Aguilar has become the heart of the team. She was named team captain this season, a team that has seen a boon in roster numbers. Burlingame finished last season with 32 wrestlers. Now, the team has upwards of 60 wrestlers in its ranks.

Nunez said the on-campus popularity of the sport has a lot to do with the way Aguilar carries herself on campus. She makes the sport look fun, he said.

“L.E. is the heart and soul of our team,” Nunez said. “She possesses great work ethic, dedication. She exudes all the things you want in your team captain … and that attitude transcends when she walks through campus.”

Aguilar’s confidence comes from being around wrestling all her life. The reason she transferred to Burlingame was because her father, Giovanni, was named assistant coach for the wrestling team last year when Nunez took over the program. The two are longtime friends, and previously coached together at Hillsdale in the 2000s.

“Ever since I was a baby … I was in mat rooms, I was going to tournaments,” Aguilar said.

Her roots run even deeper, as Aguilar’s two older siblings, Josh and Kailyn, both wrestled at Capuchino.

“So, yes, it’s in the blood,” Nunez said.

Aguilar has paved quite a path in the sport. She’s been engaged in combat sports most of her life, growing up studying Muay Thai. Since getting serious about wrestling in middle school, she has steadily grown into not just a force on the varsity mat, but on the Greco-Roman national scene as well.

A member of the California USA Wrestling team, she competed last summer in national events in both Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fargo, North Dakota. She enjoyed a top 12 finish in the 16U division at the Junior National Wrestling Championships in Fargo, just missing the All-American cut.

“It’s really cool to be a PAL wrestler on the national level, because there’s not many,” Aguilar said.

As a PAL wrestler this season, Aguilar has already earned three tournament championships — at the Roger Briones Girls’ Tournament at San Leandro High School; at the Brittany David Invitational at Liberty High School in Brentwood; and at the Lady Grizzly Classic at San Lorenzo High School.

“She’s a stud,” Nunez said. “She’s a beast. She works hard.”

Aguilar said the MidCals championship was in reach, even though she’s lost twice to Nguyen this season.

Through her four match wins in Gilroy, Aguilar didn’t have a single point scored against her. And with an uncharacteristic finishing move in the semifinals against Riordan sophomore Frederic Michalchuk, she was riding high. The win culminated in an arm throw, a double overhook that caught her opponent off guard.

“I don’t really like to hit throws but it was given to me,” Aguilar said. “I hit it, and I finished the match quick. And it was pretty. It was pretty nice.”

In the finals, Aguilar said she had a good chance at a pin but missed her opportunity after executing a chin whip on Nguyen.

“I just wasn’t quick enough,” Aguilar said.

There is a chance Aguilar and Nguyen will meet again as soon as this Saturday, when Burlingame travels to Windsor High School to compete in the Goddess of the Vine tournament.

“So, we’re hoping we catch her there,” Nunez said.

Not that Aguilar is preening herself for a rematch, preferring instead to let walking the walk do her talking for her.

“She’s humble,” Nunez said. “She doesn’t brag about it. I brag for her.”