Taking place last Saturday, the girls’ wrestling team competed in their very first tournament of the year at Hillcrest High School from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., finishing with a school score of 56. Some nerves were definitely felt, but nothing could stop these girls from trying their best.
“We were just not putting a lot of pressure on it, having fun, remembering why we fell in love with the sport, and just going out there and wrestling hard,” says senior Karina Vargas, one of the team captains.
In the tournament, there is a 16-man bracket from different schools in each weight class. First, the wrestlers are guaranteed two matches. If a wrestler loses only the first match, they are given a consolation round. However, if both matches are won, the wrestler gets to move on in the competition. Apart from individual scores, there are also team scores.
Vargas mentions, “I would say there’s a bit of nerves at weigh-ins, which is basically just making sure that you are on weight to compete. I think that is kind of the first hurdle, and then a couple of hours in, once you warm up, it kind of gets real that you’re about to wrestle soon.”
Although there were some complications, the girls brought home a score of 56. “For this tournament specifically, a lot of us are different weights than we usually compete at, higher weights than we usually do, and it’s only the beginning of the year,” Vargas explains.
While wrestling is an individual sport, the team does a great job of being supportive on and off the mat. Vargas also states, “I think for newcomers, it’s honestly just the nerves of getting into the match and feeling a bit alone because during practice we’re all together.” Support from others is very important in situations like these, especially when it is teammate to teammate. The girls support each other by being there for one another, watching each other’s matches, recording the matches, and more.
Their dedication and perseverance shine through as they improve and continue to do so. “We did our best with what we could do, but I think now that we have that experience, we know what we need to work on and how to improve,” says senior captain Amanda Lee.
