Meet Your 2021-22 Raptor Wrestling Team!!

You should join!

McKenna Ronchetto|November 12, 2021

It’s winter sports season! For many athletes, that means the beginning of intense training, workouts, and counting calories. Those athletes are the Raptor Wrestlers.

Since most middle schools around here don’t have wrestling programs, incoming wrestlers usually don’t have any experience. The beginning of the season is typically spent by getting the basics down, learning the rules, moves, and scoring while getting in shape. In the words of freshman Cy Benich, “[The first week] was good. I like it. It was fun, thrilling, and… exhilarating.”

It’s very important that the wrestlers stay hydrated. Each year, they have to take a hydration test to start the season in order to make sure everyone is staying safe. This way, they can determine how much weight is acceptable for each person to drop.

Also for safety, there are restrictions on what weight classes athletes can wrestle in. You can only go up two classes from where you weigh in before a match to ensure a fair match up. Another thing to note is that half way through the season, in January, each weight class adds two pounds to its maximum, which can be extremely helpful to those who eat very little to make their class early on.

Magnet’s team practices Monday- Friday 3:30- 5:30 here at school. A typical practice starts with a quick warm up and stretching. Then they get into a drill session, some quick teaching, and live wrestling by Coach Bayer, Coach Hagy, and the captains.

This year, the team has three senior captains, Josh Moore, Hunter Sutcliffe, and Bowen Enright, each in their fourth year of wrestling. In addition, there are six returning sophomores. When taking into account all of the newcomers, the season looks to be a good one.

Junior Maysen Ronchetto is also returning to the team after a season off last year. Her freshman year, Maysen became the first female region champion from Magnet and in our region. On teams across the country, more and more girls have been wrestling. There are even collegiate women’s wrestling programs that are starting to grow. It’s great that seeing females on a wrestling team is no longer uncommon.

There are 14 weight classes in high school wrestling, however not all of them are currently filled. The team is still looking for a 106, 190, 220, and a heavyweight. Hunter Sutcliffe told me “I think [the season] is gonna go pretty well. If [the team gets] the people [they still need], I think it’s gonna go awesome.” If there are two or more people for the same weight class, there’s a wrestle-off closer to the first match. However, don’t let that stop you from joining the team. If you’re interested, be sure to talk to one of the people named above. Sophomore Chase Dillon described the team as an “abusive family.” To understand that term a little bit, separate the two words. While it can be physical at times (you’re wrestling…), it’s a very supportive, closely knit team, so come out and give it a shot.

When asked about his thoughts on the coming season, Josh Moore said “I’m excited to have a normal season and to watch our team compete, but I think we have a lot to work on.” He also hopes to return to the state championship himself, this time with more of the team. And that is a possibility. Last year was a shortened season because of the pandemic, but five kids were able to qualify to go to lower states, with Josh Moore and graduated senior Sean Healy advancing to states. There’s also talk of going to the all girl championship for any female wrestlers interested.