Wrestling families seem to be a longstanding tradition in Oakdale. One wrestling dynasty in town has been the Martinez family. In recent history, Ben, Gabe and Faalia have all put in notable performances in wrestling and 12-year-old Dulcy Martinez is carrying on the family name. In 2019, Martinez won the Reno Worlds Girls Championship. Fast forward to this July and Martinez took first place at Rocky Mountain Nationals in Las Vegas.

“It was great to compete and to go out and win was special,” Martinez said.

She competed in memory of her late brother, Junior and her uncle John.

“I dedicated my performance to them; they are forever in my heart.”

Martinez, who wrestles for a youth wrestling program out of Modesto named Central Catholic Youth Wrestling, but lives in and attends school in Oakdale, won all three of her matches to win the title in the U12 116-pound girls division.

In August, she will head back to Las Vegas for a dual meet. Her goal for the rest of the season is to win in August but to also win in other events throughout the calendar year. She is trained by her father, Ben, Sr., who is also her coach. She also credits her other coaches, her brother and sister as well.

“I feel like I am following my families’ footsteps and wrestling style.”

Since the age of four Martinez has been wrestling and traveling to tournaments to watch her family wrestle.

“I think that’s one of my favorite things about wrestling now is the traveling and spending time with my family,” she said.

During COVID time she trained with her family by weight lifting and working on her speed.

“We did not take many breaks during 2020. I knew that we would get back to wrestling so I wanted to stay in shape and keep improving each day.”