Maliana Heimuli will be one of seven true freshmen for Fort Hays State University this upcoming wrestling.
A standout wrestler at Euless Trinity is the lone Texan on the roster for the Division II school in western Kansas.
Heimiuli was one of the best wrestlers in Texas the past two years, coming up shy of 100 wins in that span. She finished the season ranked No. 10 in the country in the 235-pound bracket.
She becomes the 25th Trinity wrestler under the guidance of Travis Clark to move onto the college level. She is also the 45th he’s coached overall, including club wrestling.
Heimuli said that Fort Hays State offered her a perfect mix of what she wanted to major in and a good wrestling program.
She said she plans to pursue a biology degree to become an environmental scientist or marine biologist after graduation.
As for the wrestling side, Fort Hays State is pretty good.
Coach Alijah Jeffery is at the helm of the Tigers and had them ranked No. 20 in the NWCA rankings in the program’s first year. Last year, they were ranked No. 7 in the NWCA preseason poll. The team was 19th last year at the NCAA Championships and had one All-American.
“When I started wrestling, I didn’t think I would pursue it seriously, but as the years passed, I got a little bit more intense and serious,” she said. “I think this would be like a good opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone because I know if I stay at home, it’s hard to grow being comfortable.”
After winning the Class 6A 235-pound title in 2025, she started to get more interest. This past season, she reached the semifinals and ended up taking third place. After the season, she was an All-American at the Folkstyle National Championships for the second time.
She posted a 91-8 mark the past two years and finished with 112 wins at Trinity.
Heimuli drew interest from Colorado Mesa, Texas Woman’s University and Grand View University.
“All my family, my older cousins, my coaches, they always tell me like, if you want to get better, you can’t stay comfortable all the time,” she said of the move to Kansas. “You have to, you have to do hard things to grow and build character.”
She leaves for Hays, Kansas, in mid-August and will start practice for the season in September. The Black-And-Gold Scrimmage is set for Oct. 23 and the season opens on Nov. 1 in Indianola, Iowa at the Luther Hill Open at Simpson College.
One of the key matches to watch for in 2027 is a road trip to Iowa City to face the University of Iowa on Jan. 17.
Heimuli is one of the wrestlers who is still building and has room to grow. She was one of many who joined the sport in high school. She said her mom suggested it and she tried it her sophomore season.
Clark said Heimuli was full of energy and showed up each day and worked hard
“I do feel like I’ve grown pretty fast,” she said. “think I’ve grown the most from my sophomore to junior year. It was mainly because of cases in consistency and like showing up every day and going with challenging people.”
After working to cut weight, she went from a JV wrestler to a state champion. Along the way, she added All-American honors in Folkstyle Nationals and the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals in Fargo.
“She continued to do everything we asked with that happy presence that allowed everyone around her to lift their spirits based on her attitude,” Clark said.
She credits Clark, part of the Texas Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, with pushing her to be better and keep going when she got to that mental wall in wrestling.
She will take that mindset with her when she gets to Hays.
“I hope to be a good reflection back to my people, my community and my coaches,” she said.
Clark expects big things for her competing with the Tigers.
“Fort Hays State checked all the boxes that we were looking for,” Clark said. “They have an outstanding staff. They have kids earning All-American honors. And they are pushing them to do senior-level stuff as well. In addition to wrestling, the university checked all the boxes academically, which was something very important to the family and us. I personally feel that she is going to crush the next level because of her attitude and work ethic. We found the right coaching staff to help continue to push her to bigger and better things and if all goes as planned, she will be a multiple-time All-American and National champ. But she knows she has to continue to do the work and at the end of the day, she has to use the resources given to her to be successful. I couldn’t be prouder of this young lady and how far she has come and I couldn’t be more excited to see what she accomplishes next.”
