Though senior Michael Cardiel has just two years of wrestling experience on the Diamond Bar High School team, he is one of the most successful wrestlers, earning the position of captain, winning league MVP, and currently ranking 17 in state.

Influenced by the wrestling experiences of his cousins, Cardiel expressed interest in wrestling and discovered his natural talent for the sport during his freshman year. However, two months after joining the team, Cardiel temporarily halted his participation due to issues with the past coach, but despite the dispute, the wrestler returned to try out the following year.

The issues with the coach still continued, so Cardiel dropped the sport again. In his junior year, the coach had left the program, and new head coach Marcus Johnson offered Cardiel a spot.

“He’s definitely one of the best wrestlers on the team. He’s always one of the first in the practice room and one of the last to leave. In things he lacks in talent, he makes up for in his persistence and work ethic,” Johnson said.

To earn his state rank, Cardiel had to progress through league, CIF, masters, then finally to state.

Last year, he  was the only wrestler from DBHS who qualified for masters. He missed making state by only one point. Cardiel attributes his lack of confidence as one of the factors as to why he lost against wrestlers he normally would have won against.

“The moment you feel nervous, that’s when your confidence drops and you start getting passive and they can take over and control the match.” Cardiel said.

Despite not competing in state, he rose to rank 17th in state after the previous ranked wrestlers graduated last school year. He credits his success to his boost in confidence and his rapport with his brother, sophomore captain Andrew Cardiel. The brothers train and motivate each other to perform to the best of their abilities.

“My brother and I push each other a lot. Even when he’s hurt, I still yell at him and motivate him to keep going. He’s cried in front of me before. Its different than if someone else yelled at him like that he’d get mad,” Cardiel said.

Although wrestling came naturally to Cardiel, he still wanted to improve. Outside of school, he visits the Mt. SAC Open Mat wrestling nights hosted every Monday and Wednesday, where he competes against ranked wrestlers.

Due to the long hours of hard work he put in, Cardiel has faced his share of injuries. This season, he injured his ribs during a match against Walnut High School, losing 2-0 due to the pain. He continued wrestling. After his third match, however, he passed out as his ribs constricted and prevented his lungs from inhaling enough air.

Despite the injuries, difficulties in his first two years and cutting weight, Cardiel still considers wrestling an influential aspect of his life. The sport taught him discipline, which improved his academics. During his sophomore year when he wasn’t wrestling, the athlete didn’t have any activity to look forward to, causing GPA to dip. However, since he has resumed wrestling, his grades have improved, and he uses the sport as a way to express his emotions.

“Wrestling taught me discipline. Go ahead and take lead, don’t wait for people. You can only really depend on yourself, because others might let you down,” Cardiel said.

The athlete considers his mindset a factor in what sets him apart from other wrestlers.

“I think that I’m not going to leave without winning. Sometimes I lose, but I just think I have to do whatever it takes to win,” Cardiel said.