Junior Neomi Franco started her journey to become a wrestling captain when she decided to just learn more about the sport as their manager.  With her sister also on the team, one day she got tired of just watching them and decided to try and do the practices.

“When I was doing them, my friend who was practicing, told me that I was actually really good,” Franco said. “I was shocked and didn’t know if I was good or not, and that was the first time I’ve done it.”

Senior Mireya Lopez describes wrestling as a challenging and friendly environment to be in because you work with the team, but also as an individual.

“You have to practice and learn how to be strong and humble, and you have to enjoy a lot of teamwork,” Lopez said.

Senior Dominic Jordan feels that when he is in a match, he zones into it and gets vulnerable, but in some cases he gets help from his coach and usually has two teams on the side for him.

“It’s just you and the other person, and all your training kind of just comes down to what you want to put inside the match,” Jordan said. “So it kind of just shows how hard you work.”

Lopez said she feels more overwhelmed, excited and a tiny hint of nervousness before the match starts because she doesn’t know what’s coming.

“When you’re in it everything goes away, and you’re just focusing on what your next move is going to be,” Lopez said.

By focusing on the basics and things that they’re not confident in, the wrestler captains are preparing for the first wrestling meet, the Empire Duals, taking place in El Dorado High School on Nov. 15. Also their goal would be to lead by example, to perform their best and to model great behavior.