Endurance, one on one matches, strength, focus, tension, take-downs, making weight and supporting coaches, are all examples of words to describe wrestling, a sport that requires a lot of physical and mental strength.
East High School’s boys wrestling team isn’t talked about enough, East wrestling has qualified for state for many years, annual state wrestling tournaments held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines are constantly sold out, and East High school has been a part of these tournaments for years. So why does no one mention it?
East wrestlers spent the off-season attending morning lifts, open mats, cutting weight, and doing lots of cardio to get their bodies prepared for any schools they have lost against the year before. Their goals this season are to be better than the year before, pushing themselves to the limit, striving for a victory for their team, but those are team goals, they also have individual goals for themselves.
“A couple of goals I have for this wrestling season is to collect more wins than my previous year, and another is to make state again,” Michael Lewis said.
Going to state is a great opportunity for East wrestlers to experience. East High School being known for wrestlers going to state, that is always a goal they would shoot for during the season.
“My goals are to place at state, and do better than the year before,” sophomore Cameron Bennet said.
There are many accomplishments the wrestlers want to accomplish this season, not only them, but also the coach James Giboo has a few goals for the season as well for his 13 wrestling season being head coach at East High School this year.
“Our goal is always to win the conference and to have more state qualifiers than the year before. We had four state qualifiers last year so hopefully we can have five or more this year,” Giboo said.
Wrestling is a complex sport. You must grow your mindset so you can be mentally prepared for whoever you are up against. This sport isn’t only about strength and muscle, it’s also about your mentality, if you have a bad mentality before going on the mat, you will have a higher chance of losing.
“It takes the willingness to work hard, and you must have a growth mindset. There are going to be ups and downs regardless of if you are a first-year wrestler or a four-year starter, your mindset is going to determine how you handle that adversity,” Giboo said.
That being said, the wrestlers have their own personal idea on what it means to be a wrestler at East High School. Lets hear from some of them.
“To be a wrestler means that you must work harder than your opponents, spending every moment learning to get better. What people don’t understand is that a lot goes into the sport, it’ll test your mental and physical will power, “senior Michael Lewis said.
Michael Lewis is a senior at East who has been a wrestler for three years and was one of the few wrestlers to make it to state in 2024. Michael Lewis understands the dedication that goes into wrestling and how much mental and physical power it takes to accomplish the goal the wrestlers need when going on a one-on-one match. Although not every wrestler makes it to state they all still have an idea of how they view the sport as a whole.
“Whether you are running, lifting, wrestling or even stretching your intensity, should always be through the roof. This simply means doing whatever you are doing at the highest level possible. Everyone is at a different level, but you should always be pushing to your personal limit,” junior Emperor Lewis said.
Pushing yourself to the highest of your potential will get you where you want to be in wrestling, as long as you have the right mentality. You may start at a different level than your opponents or teammates, but with mind power and physical body strength you can become better if you want it enough for yourself. East wrestlers have been spending the off-season attending morning lifts, open mat, cutting weight, and doing lots of cardio to get their bodies prepared for any schools they have lost against the year before. Their goals this season are to be better than the year before, pushing themselves to the limit, striving for a victory for their team, but those are team goals, they also have individual goals for themselves.
