The Boys’ Varsity Wrestling team finished the regular season with a 6-2 winning record and placed second in the 2A Queens Division. The team reached the first round of the playoffs, where they lost 51-19 against Eagle Academy for Young Men. We took the time to speak with the team this season to find out type of training and conditioning the team goes through to be successful.
“With a sport like wrestling, everything starts with conditioning and then especially with wrestling, it’s kind of like an uncommon sport, especially in the city,” Coach Pedranghelu said. “A lot of the groundwork starts with the foundations of wrestling. Everything’s going to start on your feet with take downs and things like that. Then we move forward to top and bottom work.”
Coach Pedranghelu gave us an inside view of what training is like for his wrestlers.
“A daily routine as a wrestler would include conditioning and then wrestling,” Coach Pedranghelu said. “Things like take downs and ground work aren’t uncommon to be seen in the wrestling team. The wrestlers first run and do push ups, bur-pees, core training, and they spar to practice for future matches. They train single legs, double legs, two one lunge step ankle picks, and throws.”
“The one thing I really appreciate, appreciate about the sport is that it teaches you life lessons,” Coach Pedranghelu said. “It teaches you how to depend upon yourself. It teaches you how to, you know, fight through adversity. And those are, you know, incredible life skills that wrestling teaches.”
In addition to teaching you how to depend on yourself, it also teaches patients and how to channel your energy into something you’re passionate about, according to Coach Pedranghelu.
“I think ever since like second or first grade, I did jujitsu, and I was just obsessed with the martial arts sport,” senior Peter Karasakalides said. “So naturally when I saw an opportunity for wrestling, I took it. It’s just become my lifestyle now.”
The team improved from their 4-2 record during last year’s season, trying Forest Hills for 3rd place in the division. Manager Anastacia Caraballo discussed her passion for the sport.
“I first saw it sophomore year and I was very interested in how the girls were very into it,” Caraballo said. “I wanted to help out because during the girls season I wrestle. Not everyone can compete in wrestling, so it’s a very challenging sport. It’s very unique to go through an entire season; the ups and downs, so not everyone can do it. If you’re able to compete in wrestling, you can pretty much do anything in life.”
