Yuma Summer League returns, reviving countywide wrestling tradition
After six years away, Yuma Summer League drew wrestlers from across the Desert Southwest, reopening a free countywide offseason pipeline in Yuma.
The Yuma Summer League returned Thursday at the Matador Wrestling Club, ending a six-year break and putting free offseason workouts back in reach for wrestlers across Yuma County. The revived sessions were open to athletes of all ages and experience levels, and the first night drew wrestlers from across the Desert Southwest, including some from Imperial County, California.
High school programs rotated hosting duties, and athletes from San Luis, Somerton, Kofa, Gila Ridge, Yuma High and Cibola trained together as one group. Organizers want to restore that mix of rivals, teammates and top talent, which pushed wrestlers to improve in the offseason instead of waiting for the winter season to arrive.
The Matador Wrestling Club opened in Yuma in September 2025 as a hub meant to bring wrestlers under one roof after years of split programs. In recent weeks, the club hosted a two-day camp on June 14 featuring collegiate wrestlers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, and an all-girls clinic on June 10 for athletes age 8 and older led by Pepe Moreno, Carolina Moreno and Emma Baertlein.
In February, Somerton hosted the Yuma Union High School District Wrestling Championships for the first time, bringing together top wrestlers from San Luis, Kofa, Gila Ridge, Somerton, Yuma High and Cibola. Somerton also qualified 12 athletes for the Arizona Interscholastic Association state tournament in February 2025, even though its program was made up entirely of freshmen and sophomores.
The summer league revival comes months after Don Klostreich died on April 22, 2026. Don Klostreich was one of the most influential figures in Arizona wrestling history. He won nine state championships and was recognized as Arizona Wrestling Coach of the 20th Century.
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