Fountain-Fort Carson’s BiNali places sixth at Colorado state tournament

Posted by Navajo Times | Mar 5, 2026 | Wrestling |

By Jalen Woody
Special to the Times

WINDOW ROCK – Kara BiNali, a Diné student placed sixth at the 2026 Colorado State Wrestling Tournament in the Class 5A girls 100-pound division. She is a sophomore at Fountain-Fort Carson High School in Fountain, Colorado.

BiNali began wrestling in middle school at Carson Middle School after trying several sports. She first stepped onto a mat in fifth grade through an organization called Wrestle Like a Girl, which works to encourage girls to join the sport.

BiNali said she felt nervous heading into high school because of the major change, but during her freshman year she met strong competitors including Lilly Lundy, Justice Gutierrez and Vivienne Arellano, who helped push her development into her sophomore season.

BiNali is Mą’ii Deeshgiizhnii, born for Tódích’íi’nii. Her cheii is Tó’áhání and her nálí is Naaneesht’ézhí Táchii’nii. She and her family reside in Colorado Springs.

Her father, Chee BiNali, said he noticed her commitment deepen as she moved through middle school and began training with high level wrestlers. He began seeing her dedication take hold around seventh grade and has been proud to watch her compete with steady toughness and a willingness to take on any match, regardless of the result.

Wrestling also runs in her family. Kara placed sixth at state last year as well.

“I kind of really want to improve a lot on my strength especially with this year, because there’s a few times that I had the girl, but I didn’t have the muscle to actually pull the girl,” Kara said. “Meeting new competition (fuels me) especially like becoming friends with them helps a lot. You wrestle with them. You help support them (and) they support you. Not only that but having those supporters make a big difference.”

In the offseason, Kara works on freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. Freestyle allows attacks using the entire body, while Greco-Roman limits contact to above the waist.

“To have my child accomplish what she did, it’s very heartwarming,” Chee said. “As parents, her mother and I are very proud of her. She put a lot of work into it, and especially with her academics.”

Fountain-Fort Carson’s girls wrestling program includes 14 athletes. Kara said she plans to wrestle in college and attend Colorado State University, where she hopes to study veterinary medicine.

The Navajo Times requested comment from Kara’s head coach, Justin Widhalm. He did not respond.

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