Congratulations to the two wrestlers that placed at state. These two young men really put on a display of what I hope Mustang wrestling will become.
*Chris put it all together and wrestled out of his mind to beat several wrestlers that were very tough. He came out of nowhere to find a place on the podium. Not only did he wrestle out of weight class ( a small 112 lbs.) but only had about 20-22 matches because of a hand injury early in the year.
*Alex put it all together these last three days. In one of the toughest weight classes in all the tournament he wrestled with passion and toughness to a 4th place finish. Capping everything off by beating a nemesis of his (who he has lost to many times) in the consolation semi-finals. By the way, almost pulling off an upset in the semis against a 2x state champion.
Chris Echeverria 119--5th place
Alex Maus 135---4th place
We had a good year finishing 23-8 with several 1st-5th place finishes in all of our tournaments. You all worked extremely hard this year, now you must ask yourself that tough question, "Am I satisfied with what I accomplished?" As the coach I can tell you that I'm happy with our improvements but not satisfied. We must take the necessary steps that are required to be a Top 10 team year in and out. We must commit
ourselves to training in other diciplines such as Freestyle and Greco wrestling. "WE" must commit to working out in the summer time to improve our techniques and skills. I will be providing all the above avenues to all, we will see how many actually want to get better. Parents you might need to push your son to go to these practices, sometimes they need a little push from you all.
We can accomplish some great things here at KMHS but it will be a collective effort from all. (Coaches, Wrestlers, Parents, Administration) I already know that I will do all that is necessary to improve this team, the question is who is going to join me. If only 4-7 wrestlers show up during the workouts then the answer is (We are ok with being mediocre). Unfortunately, I'm not and I'm going to expect that we have most of our wrestlers in attendance, including our upcoming 7th&8th graders.
Wrestlers If you play another sport in the spring or do something in the summer that will conflict with our workouts just let me know. We will get a detailed schedule that will outline all the necessary dates. You will know all the functions ahead of time, please keep me abreast of any conflicts you might have.
I've heard several comments regarding some wrestlers that will not be returning due to "???". This is a very tough sport and I hope that all of you decide to continue in this small fraternity. All of my wrestlers that I coached this year have the ability to achieve greatness. "Perseverance" is a word that comes to mind when I look at my life thus far. Many times I sat and thought of the easy way out during many stressful times. Fortunately, I (almost always) took the hard way. I took the road that made me what I am today, a hardworking and proud individual that gives back to the sport that helped me get to where I am today. Maybe not much to "you" but I've come from very humble beginnings. Think about it do you really want to quit, it's real easy to do that. Or would you want to face adversity and regardless of how you did this year make it a purpose to achieve greatness. You will be much happier later in life when you look back at. It's not about wins and losses it's about character, perserverance, and decision making. Three qualities that will make you in life.
We will only be as strong as our weakest link, and remember that "SUMMER WRESTLING MAKE WINTER CHAMPIONS".
Thanks to all the wrestlers for sticking through the year and I will see you in a couple of weeks at the banquet and give you the schedule for the Freestyle-Greco season workouts.
Go Mustangs.
Coach Roberto Rivera
