As senior year begins, students are excited about what the future is going to bring and starting to plan for life after graduation. 

One of these students is Dimond High Senior Ariyanna Camacho-Villafuerte, known by many as Yanna.

Most seniors are already looking forward to certain events of this year. Camacho-Villafuerte is one of these Seniors.

When speaking about what she is most looking forward to her senior year, Camacho-Villafuerte said, “Basketball, Senior Fun Day and graduating from high school.”

Planning for life after high school is probably the scariest thing to do for current seniors, but Camacho-Villafuerte seems to have an idea of what she might want to do.

After high school, Camacho-Villafuerte plans on attending college, hopefully on a basketball scholarship.

Dimond High leaves a big effect on students’ lives. For some, high school is some of the best times of their lives.

Many things will be missed from her time at Dimond High. 

Camacho-Villafuerte said, “I’ll miss all of my teachers who’ve helped me throughout my high school years, all of the sporting events and assemblies.” 

Camacho-Villafuerte is a starting guard for the varsity Dimond Lady Lynx basketball team. She and the team have had great success on the court.

During her freshman year, she played on a very successful JV team, which went on to win two varsity tournaments in Barrow and Cordova that year.

The next two seasons she and her team went on to win two back-to-back state championships, and her sophomore year, the team went undefeated.

Basketball has played a great role in the good times Camacho-Villafuerte’s had at Dimond.

Camacho-Villafuerte’s favorite memory about her high school years, she said, is “winning State two years in a row.”

Basketball has been a huge part of Camacho-Villafuerte’s high school life. Through it she’s made new friends and has been to many places.

Coach Jason Stahl is the Dimond Lady Lynx head basketball coach and has coached Camacho-Villafuerte since the summer before her freshman year.

Stahl said, “She brings a competitive fire to the team as well as good basketball IQ.”

Camacho-Villafuerte is a team captain and brings many key components to the Dimond Basketball team. 

Stahl said “The thing I like best about her is her ability to read things on defense and her aggressiveness.”

Over the past four years, Camacho-Villafuerte has shown tremendous growth as a basketball player. 

Stahl said, “The area which she has shown the most improvement is her mental toughness. She has learned to forget about the last play and move on to the next possession.”

Camacho-Villafuerte is very well-known around Dimond, from being a star player on the basketball team to being a good friend around school.

Senior Haley Rogers has known Camacho-Villafuerte since the 8th grade. While that is not very long, their relationship has developed throughout high school.

Since they have been good friends and teammates for a while, they have shared many memories over the years.

Rogers said, “My favorite memory with her was winning State, and it was fun rooming with her for two weeks in Vegas.”

Camacho-Villafuerte shows great leadership on the court, and off the court she shows her kind and caring side.

Rogers said, “I would describe her as a good leader and an even better friend.”

Camacho-Villafuerte has had many accomplishments on and off the court, from winning state to having great results in the classroom.

Camacho-Villafuerte is also a remarkable student-athlete who boasts a 3.4 GPA.

It’s not always easy to balance sports and school, but Camacho-Villafuerte has done a good job thus far. 

Ariyanna Camacho-Villafuerte exemplifies the characteristics of a great leader and an outstanding student-athlete.