Personal Narrative: Lone Star Duals

There I was with 2 wins and on my way to the semi-finals. Only 2 of my teammates had made it that far. My first opponent the next day would be Bryce. As our team left the Pepsi Center and started heading for our hotel, there were some people disappointed and some proud of how we had wrestled. We got to our hotel and got settled in with

Growing up with a father in the military, you move around a lot more than you would like to. I was born just east of St. Louis in a city called Shiloh in Illinois. When I was two years old my dad got the assignment to move to Hawaii. We spent seven great years in Hawaii, we had one of the greatest churches I have ever been to name New Hope. New Hope was a lot like Olivet's atmosphere, the people were always friendly and there always something to keep someone busy. I used to dance at church, I did hip-hop and interpretive dance, but you could never tell that from the way I look now.

In 2016, more than ever, the team was committed to and had one goal of winning. One of our biggest rivals was St. John’s College High School (SJCHS). My doubles partner and I played the last match of the WCAC championships against SJCHS. During the season, SJCHS was one of the hardest competitors we faced but walking onto the court on the final day of championships, my partner and I knew we would fight and win. After 45 minutes, I hit an ace and we won the match that put us in the lead to win the championships. October 30, 2016 was the single most exciting and overwhelming day for the team all season. Everyone’s hard work paid off.

Pats on the back were given to my whole family only making our faces droop lower. Jake had come so close to winning and that was all taken away because of some stupid call made by ref. Trust me, you haven’t felt devastation until you’ve been in a situation like that. But as Jake walked in front of us back into the depths of Wells Fargo, he looked up at his supporting fans and gave us one final fist bump and a classic Jake Voss smile. All the devastation and anger left my body and was replaced with pride. Most wrestlers would have hung their heads and cried after a loss like that, but not my brother. He put all his feelings aside and realised how far he had actually come. I mean he did get FOURTH in the state tournament. Why shouldn’t he be proud? It was then in that moment under those good ole Wells Fargo lights that my brother taught me the most important lesson I’ve ever learned: Never let your emotions get the best of you because, trust me, there’s always a reason to

I come from a small town called Kittitas. Kittitas is the type of town where a student knows the names of everyone in their graduating class. Despite its small size, Kittitas is widely known for it’s high school wrestling program. There are few communities that I associate myself with, and the single most influential of these communities is the high school wrestling team. Over the course of four years, I have gotten to know my teammates and coaches on a personal level, and they are the people that I feel most comfortable around.

The Fresno State Wrestling programming had been dormant for some time, however this past Friday it came back with one of the largest crowds ever in the programs history. The once popular sport on campus till its cut back in 2005 until now has found the fan base that quite honestly never left. Something a lot of individuals in the valley have been waiting for a long time. The wrestling mat was center stage, the lights were on bright and it was quite the display of the magic, excitement in terms of all fans waiting in the stands. If the first meet was any to indicate the present and volume in which the Central Valley wrestling community has been looking for in the past decade plus in its return its safe to say its met all the exceptions.

A popular saying around every gym, field, track, and weight room is that it, no matter what activity “it” is that a sportsman is participating in, is ten percent physical and ninety percent mental. For the kids who hear this daily, it is nothing more than a hollow statement a coach says to make them feel better about being physically subordinate to their opponents. I have heard this mantra throughout my life on the baseball field, football field, track, gymnasium, in the weight room, and on the wrestling mat. Just like those poor aforementioned kids being yelled at by their coach, this statement just bounced off me, never finding a sticking place among all my doubt and insecurity. Nowhere was this more true that on the wrestling mat; Coach Jaimez has told my teammates and I this countless times, and not once throughout my first four years of wrestling did this ever sink in. I am ashamed of this, as those athletes in the know, whether they be in High School or draped in their nation’s flag competing for a gold medal, know that this statement could not be more true for the sport of wrestling. Wrestling is a mental sport that is determined by a competitor’s decision to focus on himself rather than his opponent and the competitor’s confidence in himself and his potential to succeed.

When the season ended; however, I put all of my focus on school and wrestling. All season I pushed myself in the practice room and when February arrived, which is the month of the state tournament, I felt ready to attempt to join my brother in winning my first state title. Luckily we both qualified for the finals. That night was an extremely emotional night for everyone in our family, and also my brother, who won his state title. However, I did

Competing on my wrestling club’s team at the annual National Dual Team Wrestling Tournament in 2015 was a very successful tournament for myself and also for North Carolina Wrestling history. The team and I put in very hard work over the summer, training and persevering towards our goal of placing top 10 at Dual Team Nationals. The results that were achieved this tournament we’re tremendous, we placed the highest any North Carolina club wrestling team has ever placed at Dual Team Nationals. It was a learning experience first hand for each us of how the tough obstacles we have to face to achieve success, are not so difficult after we train and work hard to achieve success.

Admittedly I’m not the best wrestler, but my hard work ethic and determination is what makes me exceptional. At the 2015 regionals I lost my first match of the tournament which really brought my spirits down quite a lot. Going into my second match I knew if I lost my season would be done, and sectionals would be out of question for me. I ran out onto the mat, my heart is pounding through my chest. I didn’t want to let my parents and coaches down again. The match started and instinctively I grabbed my opponent’s leg and pinned him in 23 seconds. Winning this match put me into the finals for third place. When I ran onto the match for the finals match my heart dropped when I saw the guy who beat me come out to wrestle me. This meant I had to wrestle the guy that beat me to get into sectionals. The match started and he took me down, so I

Six wrestling mats mantled the floors, three in each of the two gymnasiums. A battle was being fought on every one, each and every soldier using all of the weapons in his arsenal. The hands of the victors were raised while the heads of the defeated drooped. The bleachers were packed with spectators. In the thin corridor that separated the two gymnasiums, people shuffled through, walking, talking, and laughing. Wrestlers occupied the indoor track that encircled the upper floor of the gymnasiums. Awaiting their next battle, the warriors prepared their minds and bodies.

The whistle blows and right way we tie up and he just starts punching. I back out, but while I’m backing out he rushes and throws me to the ground, luckily we were out of bounds. We tie back up and again a blow to the face with a clinched fist. No one sees that I 'm getting punched only I’m the one that knows he 's throwing punches. One more blow is all it takes for my nose to become a river of blood. At this point my face is starting to swell and turn red, but the I must finish the match. This just adds on to my rage. The whistle blows again and this time it 's our last tie up. I snap him down and crossface him so hard that the snot comes out of his nose. This is where the crowd goes insane because I just turned this

One thing this year’s wrestling team kept on making. The regular season was not what this team would be remembered for, but rather be remembered by the success they held in the postseason events. With the team winning the Northern Central Connecti- cut Conference Tournament for the first time in school history, the moment was surreal. Four wrestlers took home first place, Jeff Suschana in the 132 lbs weight class, Jacob Berry-Parker in the 160 lbs weight class, Frankie Rinaldi in the 170 lbs weight class and Jackson Rheault in the 195 lbs weight class. Frankie Rinaldi shares the team’s mental state of mind entering the NCCC tournament saying, “The team worked hard. I wanted to win, We all wanted to win.” With their heads above the clouds already,

The next morning, I sat solemnly backstage as my name was never announced for office. Hours later, I was back on the bus for our nine-hour-long trip back home to the very southern tip of Texas. Those on the bus understood that after the week I had, consisting of narrowly missing qualifying for nationals and losing state office, I was to be left alone, at least for a few hours. The peace was appreciated but left me to only reflect on what had happened over the course of the last

I was sitting at the control center sipping my coffee until I heard something from the comm radio. I turned it up and realized it sounded like an Xbox live conversation. Although I wondered why an Xbox conversation was on military radio. Then I realized this sounded like an Xbox live conversation, but it wasn’t it was all jumbled up and didn’t go together. This made me wonder what it was.