Wrestling team in top shape as season starts

Samo’s wrestling team, led by head coach Jason Mun, is preparing with energy and excitement as the start of the season nears. The team is looking to build upon last year’s improvements and become CIF champions. Last year, Mun started his first year of coaching at Samo and the team struggled with the staff change. However, over time, the team overcame the different coaching philosophies and wrestling styles. “[Throughout the season] their attitudes improved, they bought into the team goals and we just improved as a team overall,” Mun said.The season ended with three members, Rayna Prasad (’21), Riha Prasad (’19) and Vincent Daclan (’19), qualifying for the state championships. Riha Prasad fought her way through the competition and eventually won eighth place at the prestigious tournament. The team as a whole also placed in the top ten at the CIF Championships.“We came together as a team, and by the time the season ended we were a strong, cohesive unit,” Mun said. Although Daclan and Riha Prasad, two of their key players, graduated, the team is optimistic about this season. They have been training since the summer and have high hopes for this season.“We are expecting to become league champions, and have people place in the state tournaments. I personally want to go to the Masters in Bakersfield,” Israel Martinez (’21), one of the team leaders, said.To achieve these goals, the team is concentrating on conditioning, technique and strategy. The exercises they practice are aimed to overpower their opponent and score as many points as possible to win.“We want to be able to have the biggest gas tanks in the league and outlast the other guys. We’ve also been working on a lot of our top game, being able to pin our opponents, quickly getting out of the bottom and scoring those points,” Lucca Necci (’21), the team captain, said.The unique aspect about the wrestling program is that it is coed. Samo’s female and male wrestlers compete in the same duels, albeit in separate brackets. This year, the wrestling program is home to six strong female wrestlers that look to compete competitively this year. Rayna Prasad mentioned the importance of having coed sports at the high school level.“It embraces and keeps diversity [in sports] as well as creates a more welcoming culture towards the idea of coed teams,” Rayna Prasad said.With the staff change behind them, newly perfected technical strategies and a coalition of strong female wrestlers, the Samo wrestling team is ready to dive into the 2019-2020 season with confidence and championship aspirations.