COVINA, CA – The Northview High School girls wrestling team enjoyed another stellar campaign during the 2025-26 school year, winning several prestigious tournaments, and capturing league, division, and Masters titles on its way to taking third place at the California CIF championships.

Led by legendary head coach David Ochoa, the Lady Vikings program won the CIF Southern Section Central Division championship for the second consecutive year, and the fourth time since 2022. For his dedication and leadership, Ochoa was recently named the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)/Marines “Battles Won” National High School 2026 Girls Head Coach of the Year.

“This is a tremendous honor, and reflects the hard work and dedication of all our coaches and athletes. We could not maintain this level of success without them,” Ochoa said. “I am proud to be able to coach these kids, give them opportunities to compete against the best programs, and prepare them for success in college, careers, wrestling, and beyond.”

Ochoa, who serves as Northview’s athletic director and oversees the school’s off-campus sports programs, is in his 37th year as Northview’s boys and girls wrestling coach, a run that has seen Northview wrestlers win at every level, including 10 league championships, nine regional/division titles, seven Masters Championships, and three dual section championships.

Ochoa has coached 36 individual champions at the CIF level, and 12 state champions. In 2018, Ochoa was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.

“The girls program began in 1989 with a student walk-on for the boy’s team. Over the years we saw more girls who wanted to compete,” Ochoa said. “We began developing a strong program, and it all came together when a facility opened on campus where the girls could practice separately from the boys. That’s when the girls really started to come into their own.”

Ochoa’s blueprint for success has been to build the girl’s program with the same foundation and training as the boy’s program. The strategy has been wildly successful, as the Lady Vikings have consistently dominated their opponents, from before the CIF officially sanctioned its first girls high school wrestling tournament in 2011 to present day, with many former champions attaining national prominence.

Northview Class of 2011 graduate Brazel Marquez was recently named the 2025 USA Wrestling Women’s Freestyle Coach of the Year, as well as Region 2 Coach of the Year by the NWCA. Marquez, a three-time state champion for Northview, is now in her fourth year as Lehigh University’s women’s wrestling head coach, where she has played a major role in transitioning the team from club status into a varsity program.

Lehigh’s inaugural season in 2025-26 was hugely successful. Marquez coached Lehigh to a 15-2 dual meet record, with four wrestlers earning Region 2 individual championships and five wrestlers qualifying for the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships.

Marquez is well-known on the international circuit, coaching Team USA athletes at the U15 Pan-American Championships in Columbia, and the U17 World Championships in Istanbul. In 2025, Marquez coached the U.S. senior women’s team at the Grand Prix of Spain event in Madrid.

“I can’t say enough about Brazel. She is one of the strongest technicians I’ve ever coached, male or female,” Ochoa said. “Brazel is extremely dedicated to the sport, a great teacher, and a coach at the highest level. I am not at all surprised at her success.”

Marquez is one of a long line of distinguished Northview girls wrestlers, including Class of 2008 graduate and professional mixed martial arts champion Tatiana Suarez, a four-time champion for Northview who was named National High School Wrestler of the Year in 2007 and 2008, the first wrestler to receive the award twice.

Suarez famously fought back from a broken neck and cancer diagnosis to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship league, events that are detailed in the 2024 HBO documentary, “The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez.”

“Congratulations to Coach Ochoa, who for nearly 40 years has been guiding Northview scholar-athletes to success,” Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Blackmore said. “Covina-Valley Unified is proud to offer outstanding athletic programs and dedicated coaches at every school, inspiring students to excel both in their sport and in life. Coach Ochoa exemplifies that commitment, and his impact on generations of students is truly remarkable.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

CVUSD_OCHOA1: Northview High wrestling coach David Ochoa (right) was recently named the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)/Marines “Battles Won” National High School 2026 Girls Head Coach of the Year for his dedication and leadership.

CVUSD_OCHOA2: Northview High coach David Ochoa is in his 37th year as Northview’s boys and girls wrestling coach, a run that has seen Northview wrestlers win at every level, including 10 league championships, nine regional/division titles, seven Masters Championships, and three dual section championships.

CVUSD_OCHOA3: In the 2025-26 school year, the Northview High girls wrestling team captured league, division, and Masters titles on its way to taking third place at the California CIF championships.