Eva Zimmerman never set out to win four state wrestling championships. Her goal was simpler: improve every day.

This winter, Zimmerman closed out her high school wrestling career by winning her fourth consecutive state title, finishing an undefeated season and becoming the first wrestler in school history — girls or boys — to achieve the feat. 

“There’s about five girls in the state ever who have won all four years,” she said.

 Girls wrestling was added about four years ago as its own sport, said Utah High School Activities Association Assistant Director Jeff Cluff. With that, it grew from 250 girls competing against boys to about 2,000 girls participating with their own championship.

“I’m happy I won, but it also is a big relief,” Zimmerman said. “I tried not to put a ton of pressure on it, because it’s not fun that way, but there was building pressure all season since I hadn’t lost. It was never my goal since it wasn’t something I can control, but I’m glad I did it and can move on to the next stage.”

At the state meet, “the energy was electric, and the crowd was huge.”

“It was fun competing with my sister, too. Katie won this year, her second time winning; and my teammates, Caroline and Cassie Pastrana, won titles too,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman comes from a large family. She’s number six of 10 children; her older brother Zeke was “a really good wrestler” who competed at state and older sister, Eliza, who now helps coach the team, is a three-time state champion. Younger brother Isaiah is on Hillcrest’s team as well.

Even with enough to make their own team, Zimmerman said the living room doesn’t become a mat of competition.

“My dad owns a jiu jitsu gym so sometimes we’ll go there and work out; our family is really active,” she said.

Zimmerman took up wrestling, following the lead of older siblings. 

“I started wrestling as a freshman. I wish I stared sooner, but I followed Zeke and Eliza. I look up to them,” she said. “Early on, they were like, ‘Eva, you could be really good; you’re athletic.’”

Her success came quickly.

“To come in and win state the first year of wrestling says a lot about how hard she works,” Hillcrest coach Nick Pappas said. “She was beating boys in the room in a very short time. Her learning curve is remarkable.”

But Zimmerman said the journey wasn’t easy. She recalls struggling through grueling practices.

“I wouldn’t say I hated wrestling, but my freshman and sophomore years, I would cry at least once a week at practice,” she said. “Wrestling is hard. You have to learn to love the grind.”

That mindset shift came after her junior year when she began competing more in the offseason.

“This last year when I went and did offseason, I competed nationally a ton and that was so much fun for me,” she said. “I started to trust myself.”

Pappas said that growth defined her senior season.

“This year, she loved the sport and process,” he said. “She was such a huge player in developing other girls’ technique on the team. She was even better at helping girls keep things in perspective and helping them develop into their best selves as well.”

Zimmerman served as a team captain, helping guide a Hillcrest squad that placed third at state with six finalists.

“It’s hard to have a positive mindset,” she said. “I helped them with that a ton. I drilled it into them: It doesn’t matter if you lost, let it go.”

While Zimmerman went undefeated, she was scored on two weeks before state at the Rockwell Rumble tournament.

 “Heading into state, my mindset was ‘I'm going to wrestle. I'm just going to do my best’ because that's all you can control,” she said. “At the beginning of the year, a lot of the girls on my team wanted to be a state champ. That was never a goal of mine. Mine was I'm going to get better, and that's what I focused on.”

She moved up a weight class for the state meet.

“I wasn’t actually 115, but 110 roughly,” she said. “I already had won at 100, 105 and 100 so I thought it would be cool to go with 115. Plus, Cassie was 110 and so it worked out she won that weight class.”

With her high school career complete, Zimmerman, with a 3.9 GPA, is currently choosing between two colleges — North Central College (Illinois) and Grand Valley State University (Michigan) — to continue wrestling.

“I cannot imagine being done with wrestling right now,” she said. “I’m grateful I have an opportunity to go and compete at college.”

Looking ahead, Zimmerman hasn’t ruled out bigger dreams.

“Being in the Olympics would be awesome,” she said. “It’s going to take a ton of work and I’m ready to put that work in, but my focus is still improving and trying my best because I can control those things.”

Zimmerman has learned lessons wrestling.

“I’ve learned you got to be kind and patient,” she said. “The process isn’t always going to be perfect. Failure is part of the process and it’s not always going to be fun, but to enjoy the moment and the process.”

For the four-time champion, her titles are not the most important part of her wrestling journey.

“Win or lose, at the end of the day, you’re going to go home and you’re going to be the same person tomorrow,” she said. “I don’t want to be defined by the sport, but by doing my best.”

Pappas, who also coached senior Moroni Mahe this season to his second state title, believes wrestling and those around Zimmerman are better because of her.

“Not many coaches get lucky enough to coach someone like Eva,” he said. “I count my lucky stars I was able to be a small part at the beginning of her journey.”