As the girls’ wrestling season is wrapping up in about a month, the team is still preparing for district next week on Thursday, Feb. 9 with hopes of making it to state. Even with half of the girls being out due to illness, the team is still going strong.

“Our last match was last weekend and we took a little bit of a skeleton crew which was five to six girls,” head coach Kara Stratton said. “The flu season kind of set us back a little.”

Senior Cynthia Escalante suffered from a concussion last weekend but still managed to secure a win for the team. Although some players are out for more serious injuries, others pick up the slack.

“My last match I wrestled an Arlington girl and got my my head slammed into the mat three times, and after that I wrestled two more times and ended up taking third place,” Escalante said.

As wrestling is considered an individual sport, leadership is an important part. Wrestlers believe that when they get on the mat it is their responsibility to give it their all and try their best.

“It’s really important for us seniors to be mature about things and have fun at the same time,” senior Andrea Alvarez said.

This is the first year with Stratton as head coach after the retirement of Joe Daniels last year. The biggest change this year is new management.

“The way we have it is the girls go to their captains for questions and if [they] can’t be handled there then they come to us,” Stratton said. “Self-leadership and self-management are the most important things because [they’re] going to get you ready for life…like going to a job where you can’t take any little thing to your boss.”