With a new facility and the same work-hard attitude, the 2018 Scarlet wrestling team is in the midst of another season. The Scarlets are a team blazing a trail hoping to take home that State trophy. The stakes are high, can they do it?

Although everyone is excited to see what’s in store for the team as a whole this season, three wrestlers to watch this season are juniors Deville Dentis and Matthew Jordan and sophomore Brock Espalin. All three of them made it to State last year and are hoping to make it again this season.

Coach James Giboo has been working hard to groom these wrestlers to be the best that they can be and to have them strive to hopefully take home that big trophy.

“My plan to achieve our goals this season is to do more circuit type strength training and a lot more CrossFit. Our practices are a lot of blood, sweat, and tears and we are constantly working on our weaknesses, we focus on us and our abilities, not the opponent’s,” Giboo said.

When it comes to being a wrestler, with triumph comes many sacrifices. Junior Matthew Jordan knows exactly what it’s like to have to miss opportunities in order to achieve his dream and how these past few years have shaped him into the wrestler he is now.

“These past few years have for sure changed me, I’ve definitely put myself all into this. I’ve had to sacrifice hanging out with friends, most after school activities because I had a practice or I had a workout. It was very hard but it paid off in the end,” Jordan said.

It wasn’t just Jordan that felt like wrestling had shaped him, East’s own coach, Giboo had his fair share of wrestling experience. He has been the wrestling coach for seven years. Giboo has always been a part of wrestling and loves sharing his experience with the student wrestlers.

“I have been involved in wrestling and competing my entire life. I have got to travel all over this country thanks to wrestling and most of the time for free. Wrestling created so many opportunities for me that it is hard to explain it all. I can tell you, I would not be in education or this state if not for wrestling,” Giboo said.

It’s not just the sacrifices that can shape someone, the way they work hard on the mats can also have a huge impact in the long run. Working hard will not just help you athletically but teach the long-term effects of a good work ethic and help with balancing out time between friends and athletics.

“I’ve learned that wrestling shows how much work that you actually put in and how much it matters and if you work hard enough, you will do great things,” Espalin said.

Wrestling isn’t just the physical aspect of it for these athletes. It also has benefited them mentally and socially.

“Freshman year, I was not disciplined and was in a lot of trouble and then as I started to wrestle, I learned the value of hard work and how to be mature in stressful situations,” Dentis said.

After a successful season this past year, the Scarlets are ready to come out stronger than ever and Athletic Director Lyle Fedders is standing right behind them. Fedders is most impressed with how much the team has grown after such a success last year and with the new and improved wrestling facility at the Walker Building.

“I feel like the whole team dynamic has changed due to the new facility. Before it was varsity in one room and then junior varsity in the other, now that we have a big enough space to for everyone to be together and for everyone to learn something from a fellow teammate. I’ve also noticed that thanks to last year’s success, we’ve had a lot more kids wanting to try it out and hopefully have a good season,” Fedders said.

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Brock Espalin