Six minutes. Six minutes of unrelentless effort. Six minutes of grappling with your opponent, constantly strategizing and trying to tackle them to the mat. This season, the wrestling team had its most successful season in recent history.

According to wrestling head coach Trevour Smith, this wrestling season was a breakout year for several athletes. They recorded 24 wins and seven losses. In addition, eight members of the team placed at sectionals, overall coming in fourth place. Last year they came in eighth.

The Warriors’ successful season took flight with the Warrior Duels Tournament on Jan.13.

According to junior Evan Hsu, the Warrior Duels tournament was a good stepping stone into sectionals and eventually states.

According to captain and senior Eli Feibel,  the team has really improved over the course of four years and the Warrior Duels Tournament was evidence of that progress as the Warriors took first prize.

Winning the Warrior Duels Tournament was an especially big accomplishment for the seniors on the team who remembered losing every year before. Captain Atman Barrile, one of the seniors, said that this year’s win was the result of the hard work and dedication from years past.  

“We have a lot more seniors that have been sticking with it for four years, and we got a new coach our freshman year. This is his fourth year, and he completely transformed the team,” Feibel said.

“You always remember how you did when you’ve already done the tournament before, so finally winning felt so good. I remember my freshman year we got destroyed. It was so embarrassing to lose at the tournament you host,” Barrile said.

According to Smith, after winning the Warrior Duels Tournament, the relationship between team members has grown significantly stronger. The wrestling team is a place where everyone supports one another.

“I try to build a family culture here. We look out for one another, just being brothers. It’s good for the team to really build that with one another and go through some of the hardships together, really grinding out throughout the season,” Smith said.

Hsu and Barrile both credit their motivation to win to their teammates.

The team finished the season placing 11th at the All States Tournament on Feb. 24.