VAN BUREN -- A wave of emotions washed over Breanna Lozano when her hand was raised, signifying she was a state champion.

"I cried," Lozano said.

"That feeling that you get on the mat when they raise your hand. Everybody sees you when they raise your hand, that you won the competition. It's an adrenaline rush. It's my sense of peace."

Lozano's championship in the 115-pound division also helped the Lady Pointers finish second in the Class 5A state wrestling meet, the highest finish ever for the girls wrestling program.

Lozano is the River Valley Democrat-Gazette Girls Wrestler of the Year.

Wrestling didn't take hold of Lozano immediately.

"I started wrestling in middle school, during the covid year," Lozano said. "I wrestled for a half a season and covid hit. I quit midway through the season. I didn't know if it was for me. I wasn't ready to be in this sport."

Once Lozano reached high school at Fort Smith Northside, she tried it again.

"I wanted to try something else," Lozano said. "I got into high school and thought I'd give it another shot."

An injury sidelined her as a sophomore. But in her junior season last year, she finished third in the Class 6A state tournament. She won a major decision in the third-place match after losing in the semifinals.

She moved to Van Buren for her senior season and cruised to the championship.

"It's still unreal," Lozano said. "To be the outstanding wrestler of the year is crazy. I don't know how to feel about it. My junior year, I finished third at 120 pounds, but I had wrestled at 115 all year."

This season, her only year at Van Buren, Lozano was 34-3. She won by fall to open the state tournament, won by technical fall in the semifinals and then by fall with just seven seconds left in the finals.

"I would have won either way," Lozano said. "She didn't score a point on me, or in the semifinals."

Lozano also won at the Class 5A North Region Tournament, winning by major decision in both the semifinals, 18-6, and in finals, 12-4.

While wrestling has now become an integral part of Lozano's life, she probably won't wrestle competitively anymore but will be on the mat in a different manner.

"I feel like it's where I should be," Lozano said. "I would like to wrestle, but after maintaining a weight for three years, it's tiring. I'm nowhere near 115 right now. I'm excited to go into being a ref. I look forward to raising their hand, for that moment. It's exciting to share that with somebody else."

The sport will also allow Lozano to do something else she likes to do as well.

"I want to travel," Lozano said. "Why not do something I love at the same time?"