Wrapping up the 23-24 season, the wrestling team dominated on the mat in a competitive dual meet against Mira Costa. Despite Costa’s efforts, the Sea Hawks pulled through triumphantly and won the meet 57-21. 

Starting off strong, girls wrestling took the mat. Sophomore Faith Bree’s match had a rough start, falling behind 5-1. Bree persevered through a past shoulder injury and quickly found her momentum, successfully taking down her opponent to win the match with an impressive 17-point streak, finishing the match 18-5. 

“[Wrestling] is all mental, you have to be determined and want it. During all matches, mental toughness is stronger than physical strength. Your injuries and setbacks don’t define you as an athlete. It isn’t about getting on to varsity or being on JV, wrestling is still wrestling, we all put our shoes on the same and we all gear up the same,” Bree said. 

Bree speaks highly of the camaraderie she has found while on the wrestling team, emphasizing how much her teammates encourage her. Throughout the meet, teammates intently watched each match, sharing the highs and lows. 

One high was when freshman Noah Vogt made his debut on varsity while substituting for injured wrestler, Cade Leonard. Noah won his first varsity match after pinning his opponent. “I felt exhilarated, I proved to myself that I’m capable of competing at a higher level than what I’m used to and it felt great to help lead my team to victory,” Vogt said. 

Noah had his fair share of support from his coach, teammates, and his father in the stands. As he stepped off the mat, his coach lifted him in the air and all his teammates gathered around to cheer him on. 

“It felt amazing being able to come through for my team. I could tell my coach was proud, and it felt even better knowing I made my dad proud. He would’ve been proud of me either way, but it still felt really good knowing he was there to watch me succeed,” Vogt said. 

The encouragement of teammates and individual determination were not the only factors that fueled this Sea Hawk victory. As his arm was thrown up by the referee in victory, Vogt immediately looked to his father. Bree also felt strongly seeing most of her family in the stands. 

“I feel pride when [my family] is all there to watch me, I’m not only doing this for me, but for them too. I come from a long line of wrestlers so in a way they’re living their wrestling career through me, so every time I put my everything into my matches, for all of us,” Bree said. 

Another highlight of the meet was junior Joe Khemakhem’s athletic performance throughout his match. Khemakem managed to lift his opponent off his feet before a strong takedown. His opponent made several attempts to escape but fell short as Khemakhem overpowered him. Inevitably, Khemakhem dominated, finishing his match with a 7-0 win. 

“I worked really hard during the match, the guy was very strong and at certain times it was difficult turning him. There’s difficulties in every match but I always do everything that I can to come out on top,” Khemakhem said.

Khemakhem and his teammates were very energized before his match considering he has remained undefeated at every dual meet this season. 

“I was excited to go out and win my match knowing all eyes were on me. Every day leading up to this [the team] did hard drilling, practice, conditioning and lifting for two hours or more,” Khemakem said. “This is my third year on varsity, and I’ve noticed we don’t have many students in the supporters sections during our home meets. It would mean the world to us if more people came out and offered us their support.”