Diamond Bar High School’s wrestling team faced off against Glendora High School in its first match on Dec. 5, dominating the match from the beginning, winning with a final score of 59-14.
Junior Aaron Oh got the Brahmas off to a good start by pinning his opponent, and was followed up by five consecutive pins by his teammates. DBHS used this enormous momentum to keep the team energized and focused.
Senior captains Nathan Rodriguez, Matthew Carrillo, and Brian Chao led the team with pins of their own, contributing to the total of nine pins overall for the Brahmas. Chao then ended the meet by pinning his opponent in two minutes, sealing the wrestling team’s first victory of the season.
Having several new members wrestling in their very first varsity match, the returning wrestlers made sure to encourage their new teammates. “We stick together both on and off the mat. We are a family,” junior KeAndre Johnson stated. This “family” attitude really showed when all the guys got up of the bench to cheer for their teammates. To show further support, the wrestlers became even louder when sophomore Andrew Wen and junior Jonathan Kuo did not win their matches
“Our biggest strength we saw tonight was how we came together as a team. We had some people step up and show some toughness who hadn’t wrestled at this level before,” Coach Scott Usher commented.
After this match, the team has even higher hopes and expectations for the season. “As a team, this year, we hope to be CIF league champions and CIF champions. Individually, we all hope to go to state,” junior Jeremy Foo said.
The rigorous conditioning and daily practices have all paid off as shown in its dominating performance. DBHS has proven that they are fully capable of defeating any team and defend the league title despite losing many talented seniors.
“We hope to come in with high expectations and meeting those expectations this year. We have a lot of great wrestlers and the potential to be a really good team,” Coach Usher stated. The Brahmas showed that potential and team spirit against Glendora and hope to carry this momentum and winning spirit through the rest of the season.
