Head coach: Taylor Wilson

2018-2019 season record: 0-4

2018-2019 season recap: The team, which consisted of mostly newcomers, showed steady improvement over the course of the season, performing well during the last meet but falling just short of winning.

Key Additions: none

Key Matchups: Half Moon Bay, Milpitas
Star players: Hunter Hawley 

Key losses (graduated athletes): Victor Chen, Carolyn Ma, Leon Dang, Ryan Busse

League: Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL)

Prognosis: 

The wrestling team had a large influx of newer, talented members last year, who have mostly all returned for this season. Due to this more experienced lineup, coach Taylor Wilson expects the Falcons to do well compared to others in their respective divisions using the practice and experience gained last season.
On a surface level, the wrestling team’s 0-4 record during the 2018-2019 season implies a lack of skill; however, the exact opposite is true. The team, which is expected to turn out 30 members, performed strongly for a team consisting of 80 percent rookie wrestlers, exceeding expectations in many close matches against Homestead and Los Altos.
According to Wilson, who has taken over for former head coach Kirk Abe’s, the team looks especially strong this year, and with enough practice, he foresees them easily making CCS.
To accomplish this, Wilson is introducing a lifting coach who will help the team on Blue Days. As for normal practices, he plans to continue building on cardio but mainly focus on “more technical, on the mat [skills], as that’s really where members get the most experience.”
The team’s first league match will be held on Jan. 9 at Milpitas, but practice meets will also be held starting in the first week of December. In February, the team will play in several tournaments, including their league finals, which determines whether or not they make CCS.
Ultimately, Wilson thinks that the team’s success relies on the talent and experience of last year’s members, including star wrestler Hunter Hawley, who individually qualified for CCS last year, and he is excited to see how far the team will come this upcoming season.
“I have a young team, so [our success] is really banking on the younger guys making some leaps and bounds,” Wilson said. “I’m not really teaching them how to walk or how to crawl anymore. They now need to get their legs under them and put in the work if they’re going to get somewhere.”