The boys’ wrestling team’s first match was on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Arlington Invitational. At the tournament, junior Brandon Williams placed fifth, scoring 14 points, senior Sergio Fernandez placed fifth, scoring 14 points and sophomore Kaleb Martinez placed sixth, scoring 11 points. With these results, the team aims for improvement through training as the season progresses.

“We didn’t do the best we possibly could, but we just gotta work on it to get better,” Williams said. “[We should work on] technique, discipline and cardio.”

With wrestling being a technically driven sport, boys’ wrestling coach Noel Peterson aims to improve on the technique of this season’s new players. However, improving technique is not the only focus of the team; Peterson also wants to see the players grow as individuals.

“Wrestling is a high-skill sport with all the technique you have to know,” Peterson said. “[There’s] tons of technique [to learn]. I hope they all improve in how they wrestle, their condition and just become better people.”

Players on the team also see room for improvement in non-athletic areas of the sport. With an influx of freshman players, the team believes its bond will strengthen as the season progresses because the athletes will spend time training and competing together. 

“Our togetherness needs to improve,” senior Quentin Borchardt said. “Being together as a team needs to improve. Other than that, I think we’re pretty solid. Honestly, I think as we go through the season, it’ll get better on its own as we spend more time together and work harder together.”

The next match will be on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at Newman Smith High School. The team hopes to gain strength in numbers as the wrestlers who also play football will join them after Thanksgiving break.

“We’re [a] really young [team],” Peterson said. “We’re still trying to find our identity as a team, but we will.”