Army crawls. Bear crawls. Seals. Burpees. These are just some of the exercises the SCHS wrestling team went through daily during their season. Sometimes players lose as much as five pounds in one practice, according to wrestling coach Andrew Calderon.

“It’s just constant movement,” Calderon said. “They’re just sweating so much out. They work so hard.”

The hard work paid off. Senior captains David Marez and Gerardo Mestizo finished top six in league, qualifying for the Central Coast Section wrestling tournament, and freshman Dalila Prudente finished top 15 in CCS.

Despite the success, the team faced many obstacles this season. They started practicing a month later than normal because administration could not find a coach for the team, which threatened to cancel the wrestling season. Calderon, who is also defense coordinator of the SCHS football team, decided to step up and take the job, and he is glad he did.

“I really enjoy being around these wrestlers because they show a lot of heart,” Calderon said. “It’s a physical sport. They have to watch what they eat and be very disciplined.”

Due to the lack of gym time, the team had to practice at Adrian Wilcox High School with their wrestling team in preparation for CCS.

Although the CCS title was just out of reach this year, Calderon said the future of the team is bright. The number of wrestlers has increased from 8 wrestlers last year to 13 wrestlers this year; in fact, the coaches are looking at the possibility of having a varsity and junior varsity team next year if enough wrestlers show up.

Calderon and the senior captains have high hopes for next year’s returning wrestlers, whom they believe have a lot of potential.

“In my opinion, the kids who give it all they’ve got and put in the effort are going to do well,” Mestizo said. “There are a lot of kids who caught my eye this year who are going to destroy next year.”