Coronado’s Bella Arellano-Gandy flipped the switch this year.  The Cougar girls wrestler has bullied opponents on the mat and compiled a 12-2 record with 10 of those victories via pin fall. Arellano-Gandy has won four of her previous five matches ahead of Saturday’s Vista Ridge Alpha Female tournament at Vista Ridge. Ahead of the Alpha Female, Arellano-Gandy, who competed at 110 as a sophomore and is at 125 this season, possess a different aura. A controlled swagger. That’s a feeling she’s learned to appreciate.  “Last year, I had a little performance anxiety and anxiety in general,” Arellano-Gandy said. “This year, I felt more confident going into the season. I felt more confident about myself as a wrestler and my moves. … I grew a lot and I’ll continue to grow and building off my summer improvements and putting myself in a lot of uncomfortable situations gave me a lot of confidence this season.”   Arellano-Gandy finished 33-11 as a sophomore and placed fourth at state in 2025, but the Cougars junior said she “put a lot of pressure on myself,” especially in middle school, which hinder her in competition. Early in her wrestling career, pre-match jitters would stymie Arellano-Gandy and instinctive moves briefly became a struggle to execute.  In middle school, Arellano-Gandy’s family took her to a sports psychologist which helped the 125 pounder tame her nerves.  “I started seeing a therapist four years ago and working with her was huge,” Arellano-Gandy said. “Working with her and having my support system and my family I was able to move past those feelings.”  Anthony Arellano-Gandy, Coronado girls coach and Arellano-Gandy’s brother, has been present for majority of his sister’s career and witnessed the shift. Especially last offseason. As Arellano-Gandy trained and competed, Anthony noticed how polished his sister became on the mat.  “She’s gotten a lot of reps with her favorite moves and we work positions and train how we react when something else happens,” Anthony said. “We build on the road of possibilities, so when she goes out there, she’s not having to think and she can just feel it and execute. … There are some parts of this that, she’s been doing this so long that instinct takes over.” Arellano-Gandy, who ranks second in 5A at 125, witnessed the spells of anxiety replaced by a wave of confidence, which came from hours of training. If Arellano-Gandy appears stoic during a match, that’s self-assurance taking over. “I try not to focus on the numbers,” Arellano-Gandy said. “Being ranked No. 2 is cool but I’m just going out there to wrestle and going out there to have fun competing on the mat with really good wrestlers.” While Arellano-Gandy and the Cougars will aim to have multiple placers at this weekend’s Alpha Female tournament, Anthony said he reminds his athletes to battle for victories but to appreciate the ride.  “It’s about the journey, not the destination,” Anthony said. “We’re working toward getting better and that’s the goal. We want to be better than yesterday or better than last week. Over a long period of time, that’s going to make us much better wrestlers than if we’re focused on wins and losses. We’re going to go in there with a smaller team, but we’re going to find our areas of improvement and try to get better.”  If you go  Vista Ridge Alpha Female tournament  When: 9 a.m. Saturday  Where: at Vista Ridge High School, 6888 Black Forest Road Details: More than 30 girls wrestling teams will travel to Vista Ridge to crown the Alpha Female champ in a bevy of weight classes. Over 10 local schools will compete at the tournament.  ...read more read less