Amat Wrestling seniors say goodbye to the mat
January 27, 2023
Bishop Amat Wrestling team celebrated their Senior Night last Wednesday to commemorate their great season this year.
This year Bishop Amat had nine seniors who were completing their last year of being members of the wrestling team.
At the tournament, the seniors shared letters with their parents and all family members who were there to support the wrestlers at their ceremony. These letters read aloud, and looked over their season as a whole as they took the opportunity to thank the people who supported them and got them to where they are today.
Everyone was given flowers and was able to take a picture with their family members who were there to support these seniors in their last home dual.
Out of the nine seniors, Sophia Madayag was the only senior girl on the team who experienced her first year of wrestling.
The two senior captains explained the joys of their leadership roles throughout the season and how it affects the team on and off the mats.
“Just get the people going, lead them, teach them,” senior Andre Douve said.
They also gave their younger teammates advice to carry out with them in their future years as wrestlers on the team.
“Don’t be scared, don’t be afraid,” senior Ryan Castillo said. “The first week is going to be terrible, you’re going to hate it but after that you will have so much fun.”
Along with the two senior captains, Head Coach Tom Pierre shared some words of wisdom for his departing seniors.
“I always tell them that the lessons that you learn in wrestling, whether it’s discipline, time management, the value of hard work,” Pierre said. “You learn in the room but it’s something that you can use in your whole life. So hopefully the things that they have been taught they can use in their future.”
As Pierre gave his words of advice, the younger wrestlers also expressed their love and appreciation for their seniors, who would be moving on to finish their final season.
The Amat Wrestling Team dueled against Harvard Westlake high school. The Lancers won all the matches with a cumulative team score of 71-9, which put them at 10-0 core for the entire season.
So far, the wrestlers have had a good season that will lead and carry them to CIF. They are in their last final matches and tournaments in which they will face great opponents to prepare them for their CIF duals.
