Diamond Bar wrestling has started its 2022-23 season strong, with a high placing in the opening competition.
This year’s wrestlers are young, consisting mostly of freshmen and sophomores with the exception of four seniors. The young Brahmas train every day, engaging in conditioning workouts, as well as practicing takedown and hop drills to prepare for live matches.
The year’s first experience for the Brahma wrestlers was at the Spartan Scramble, hosted by La Canada High School on Nov. 12.
“Our preseason tournament went really well,” senior captain Ismael Hamza said. “I was very impressed with how our practices translated onto the mat in actual matches.”
Following this tournament, the wrestlers commuted to the Scott Davis Invitational hosted by Mater Dei High School on Dec. 3. Hamza placed on the podium, taking home a second-place medal.
Prior to the start of opening competitions, as part of the preparation for the season, Hamza and his teammates attended a multitude of wrestling camps and tournaments hosted by USA Wrestling, placing on the podium multiple times.
“I attended a week-long wrestling camp called West Coast, definitely the hardest thing I’ve done,” Hamza said. “I think a very underrated part of training was probably mental training and documenting a bunch of moves I had learned and my feelings and emotions during matches.”
Alongside Hamza at this camp and various USA Wrestling-sanctioned competitions during the offseason were senior Kenny Nakamura, juniors Juno Kuk and Abigail Alvarado, as well as sophomore Ethan Lee.