With tensions high and victory in mind, wrestlers stepped onto their home mat at a dual meet against Fallbrook. Each wrestler shook hands with their opponent, ready to showcase their hard work and dedication, Jan 16. Coming in at a disadvantage with five injured wrestlers, the team strived to win as many matches as possible, according to captain Langdon Mullica (11). The meet ended with a Westview loss and score of 50-27.
Despite the challenges presented to them, the Wolverines persevered, securing six match victories and meeting personal goals. Among the injured wrestlers, Mullica said despite the setback of a torn lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his knee, he took the opportunity to improve his match strategies.
“I hadn’t wrestled in three weeks before this because I tore my LCL, so it was my first match back in a while,” he said. “I just wanted to focus on my match and all the techniques I’ve been working on, such as staying low.”
For Mullica, the match was an opportunity to test his strengths and improve his weaknesses. He said one of his major strategies is to wrestle using his own unique combinations, rather than trying to imitate other wrestlers’ patterns.
“I’ve had a problem with conforming to other people’s styles, so I just wanted to go out there and wrestle my style,” he said.
The injuries weren’t the end of Westview’s obstacles. For Maritza Ruiz-Soto (12), one of the challenges of being a girl in wrestling means there isn’t always an available opponent in your weight class. This was the case at the Fallbrook meet.
“In Southern California, we have such a limited number of girls, so we don’t have the options like the boys do of cutting weight and still being able to find an opponent,” she said. “I cut down to 121 but my opponent was 110, so we couldn’t fight each other.”
Even though Ruiz-Soto said she feels that not having an opponent robbed her in a lot of ways, it also pushes her to see what she can do better.
“All I could feel was initial sadness,” she said. “I only have so much time left to wrestle in high school so every match matters to me, but all I can do is push myself in practice and improve.”
Sabrina Nguyen (9) said that she was grateful for the opportunity to compete regardless, and despite her loss she held her head high.
“My goals for all meets are to just enjoy it and have fun,” she said. “Although I didn’t win, if I could go back in time, I would still go out there and wrestle. Every loss makes me motivated to train harder to win next time.”
The weeks of intense training prior to the meet played a key role in their achievements. Mullica said that one aspect of their practice that he felt made an impact on their performance was a drill called “live.”
“We do a lot of live, which is a practice match where you are putting in 90 percent effort with another person on your team,” he said. “It really gets your wrestling IQ up, because you get used to different situations. It also helps with your strength and condition.”
For Wyland Horgan (11), all of those weeks of training paid off in the moments following his win against Fallbrook. He said that making his coaches and parents proud is his motivation to dedicate himself to every practice.
“I remember getting my hand raised after winning my match, which was significant because it was in front of a lot of people I look up to,” he said. “It feels good to get your hand raised after you work hard the whole season.”
