Flipping over a new record, the Diamond Bar High School wrestling team starts off their season strong with a 1-0 victory against Sunny Hills. The team is optimistic that they will maintain a dominant run and triumph in the rest of their duals.
In preparation for the season, the team has undergone intense conditioning that pushed their mental and physical capacities. These workouts included running, practicing for matches and building their endurance. For five days a week, the wrestlers practice relentlessly, balancing their rigorous conditioning schedules alongside schoolwork.
“Wrestling’s conditioning is the hardest thing you will ever go through in your life,” returning junior Peter Xu said. “You have to manage your time wisely if you want to stay on top of your academics.”
The team saw a significant increase in its members this year, reflecting the growing popularity of wrestling at DBHS. However, with such a large team comes some changes.
“Many members on the team are first years, so we are all learning together. I am happy to see more girls on the team now, since last year there were only a couple,” junior Yolanda Li said. “Even though we have our differences, at the end of the day we win as a team and lose as a team. We always push one another to become better and stronger.”
Xu, who recently placed third at the Newport Harbor Wrestling Tournament, shared his goals for the remainder of the season.
“I’m feeling confident. Getting first place in Hacienda League is hard but that is my goal. I want to qualify for CIF, then eventually compete at a state level,” Xu said.
Unfortunately, the wrestlers were unable to overcome Walnut in their latest dual meet on Dec. 13, falling just two points short of victory. However, the team expressed that they had put in their best efforts against the 15th highest-ranked team in the state, with head-to-head matches.
“I won my match yesterday,” Li said. “It was a shame that we weren’t able to secure another team win, but our performance this year against Walnut surpassed all my expectations.”
