Wrestling team redeems last season’s shortcomings

Compared to last year’s abysmal season, in which the wrestling team scored last in the Falcon’s end-of-the-year power rankings and went 0-6, this year’s prospects are looking up.

The 2-2 Falcons recently dealt a crushing defeat to Harker on Jan. 24, winning 54-0. In addition, the Falcons defeated Santa Clara 44-38 in a dual meet on Jan. 15.“We’ve won a dual meet versus Santa Clara for the first time in a while,” junior Graham Grant said. “ I expect us to win some more dual meets.”

A dual meet is a meet in which wrestlers compete with other with wrestlers one-on-one. The winner is determined by adding all wrestlers’ scores together.

This is the first time the team has won a dual meet in three years.

A new coaching staff, including coach Armando Gonzalez, new faces and more experienced wrestlers have contributed to the team’s success.

Members of the wrestling team agreed that changes in the coaching staff have been a great improvement.

“[The new coach] has been better [in] almost everything — he gets us in shape, he knows better [than the previous coach],” senior wrestler Henry Wei said. “And he’s really young — he’s under 30 years old.”

Because of the improved training methods, the Falcons have been able to overcome challenges such as shortages of team members. This year, the wrestling team has only 15 members.

“We’ve also had problems filling the lineup,” assistant coach Daniel Ganez said. “The team has been responding well to us [the new coaching staff.] They have been working harder and reaching goals.”

Experienced players on the team have contributed to an encouraging season.

“There are a lot more wrestlers this year, and they’re better,” Wei said. “Grant’s really exploded this year; he’s much improved this year. He’s winning many tournaments.”

According to Wei, younger wrestlers have also played important roles in the team’s success.

Ganez said that freshmen Adam Camp and Andrew Klamecki are among new wrestlers with potential.

The team is gearing up for future competitions, including CCS and the League Championships on Feb. 9.

Wei said that the team hopes to be within the top 6 in the league. He also said that the team hopes to send 3 or 4 wrestlers to the state tournament.

The next tournament will be the SCVAL League Finals at Homestead on Feb. 9.