The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

Wrestlers in Contention for League and CCS Despite Team’s Small Size, Injuries

With important competitions looming, the wrestling team has been intent on its preparations, despite several setbacks. The wrestling team will be attending League Championships this week, while the girls on the team also attended CCS over the past weekend.
Small team size has been a recurring problem for the Eagles thus far, with Los Altos having to forfeit points at multiple competitions on account of not having enough wrestlers.
“As far as the team goes we’re 3-1 as far as leagues, but we had to forfeit the last four matches because we don’t have anyone in the heavyweight classes,” head coach Randy Jimenez said. “The big boys didn’t come out this year. We would have been undefeated but we’ve had to forfeit the last four weight classes (six points per match).”
Few wrestlers hasn’t been the team’s only dilemma. Several athletes were injured in a recent tournament.
“We’ve had some injuries. I had…two [wrestlers] get injured this weekend, one with a dislocated elbow, one with a broken hand, both of those are season-ending injuries,” Jimenez said. “[Junior Mirella Acevedo] had a real good shot at making Girls States, I think, in my head, you know she was going to go to Girls CCS this upcoming weekend.”
Both Mirella and the other injury from the tournament, a freshman, will be have the opportunity to wrestle with the school in future years. Still, their injuries represent a blow to the team.
This year, the team included three girls. However, after Mirella’s injury and the wrestler’s broken hand, as of press, seniors Zoe Morgan and Annalasa Cantu were the only wrestlers who attended CCS for girls wrestling this weekend.
“My girls are very tough, and I’m proud of every girl that comes out,” Jimenez said. “At the end of the season they don’t even refer to themselves as a female wrestler, they refer to themselves as an Eagle wrestler, and that’s alI we want them to do and know that confidence. The guys don’t treat them any different than another wrestler. I think it breeds a more cohesive team. The [other teams] don’t look at them like “that’s a female wrestler”; they look at them like that’s a wrestler.”
This cohesiveness has been at the core of the team’s recent wins at tournaments. Injury and size aside, wrestling has poised itself for potential success in CCS. And with CCS approaching fast, the coaches have been transitioning practice time from more instructional to more drilling.
“Basically if they don’t have it now they’re not going to get it by next week,” Jimenez said. “It’s just more repetitive stuff now, more conditioning, harder conditioning, further expand their lungs, their stamina.”
Looking forward, a mix of this cohesiveness and conditioning will help the team as they compete in the final stretch of the season.
“League finals is really where you want your team to be peaking at because next week is CCS and then league finals and then states,” Jimenez said. “The next two weeks is where you really want your team to be peaking, at full tilt.”

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