Sojourner Truth Student With a “Golden Heart” Wins 2026 State Championship in Wrestling, Giving Oakland Athletic League its First Girls Title in History

While Oakland celebrates Olympic Gold for Alysa Liu, the city and the District are also celebrating a new State Champion. Shayna Ward is less than three months from graduation, and now she has some important hardware to go along with the diploma she’ll receive from Sojourner Truth Independent Study School. Shayna now has a medal as a California State Champion in wrestling. At the California Interscholastic Federation Championships in Bakersfield on February 28, Shayna capped an incredible undefeated season notching her final win for a record of 42-0, and taking home the title.

“This year, I was like this is my year to not lose to anyone. And I’m going to be stronger, I’m going to be faster. I know what to do, I’ve been to the state finals twice. I wanted to have an undefeated high school season. But my sophomore year I had three losses, and last year, I had three losses.” Both of those seasons, she made the State Championship finals, and both times she came up short. But this year, she got revenge on the wrestler who beat her last year.

“It feels like I’m part of a special group now, because there’s only 14 of us (in different weight classes). 14 boys, 14 girls who are champions, you know? It feels like I’m in a special clique now. And I’m finally glad that that happened, because my hard work wasn’t being validated because I was taking second place each time, I was the weakest of the strongest, you know? So, I feel validated now.” Of course, she’s so much more than just validated. The former Junior Olympian even has her eyes on the Olympics one day.

“It’s still unreal, I’m still trying to take it all in,” said Shayna’s father, Darrel Ward. “I saw that the second (loss in the finals) really bugged her… we had to give her a break, but it was also getting right back on it, or right back to it, since she was hungry, since it brought out the hunger. She has a golden heart. She has that fire in her heart.”

Ashlee Sherman is Shayna’s legendary coach, who has been leading wrestlers at Oakland Tech for more than half a century. He even has a former wrestler, former Tech student, Stephen Abas, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Greece.

Near the end of Shayna’s championship match, she nearly got pinned. But she was able to get out of it and turn the table on her opponent and get the pin. “She gutted it out. There was a force within her that said ‘hey, I’m coming. I’m fighting.’ And she fought her way out of it. And caught the other girl,” said Sherman. He added Shayna will be wrestling at the next level, Division 1 in college. “She can do it. It’s all possible.”

Shayna started wrestling when she was 13 years old, but she started in mixed martial arts including jiu-jitsu, boxing, and judo when she was 5, as her father is a mixed martial artist, and also trains her. She is one of just five female wrestlers in the Oakland Athletic League. Only Oakland Tech and Skyline have wrestling teams with girls. Shayna wrestled at Tech because her school, Sojourner Truth, doesn’t have a team.

“We are extremely proud of Shayna as a student, and as an athlete,” said Sojourner Truth Principal Alessandra Cabrera. “Shayna is so committed to wrestling, which is why Sojourner Truth was the perfect option for her to focus academically, while balancing her sport’s schedule. She is also part of our school’s Leadership Club and advocates for her fellow students. Her strength of character is what sets her apart.” 

Cabrera added that Sojourner Truth’s independent study model is perfect for some students. “SJT exists so that students truly have an alternative option to support their endeavors. Our staff is here to support students in finding that successful balance. Shayna is a student who has found that perfect balance.”

Shayna has advice for Oakland athletes and students who come up behind her. “The lesson here would be to keep going. Because my sophomore year, when I lost in the finals, I was upset and last year, I was even more upset.” Losing two championship matches in a row prompted some people to give her the nickname, Daton Fix, after the former NCAA wrestler who made it to five finals, but never won. “I was like I have to lose this nickname, so it kind of like fueled me to keep going to show everyone I could win. That’s the lesson. Never give up.”

Here’s the end of Shayna Ward’s wrestling match that landed her the State Title. You can see her nearly get pinned before turning things around and securing the win.

Oakland Unified School District is currently organizing celebrations for Shayna befitting of her championship run.