Bright Future.

The wrestling team finished off a great season, but the best may be yet to come.

“To have one senior at the end of the season, and still have six all-conference wrestlers, win 32 dual meets, ten sectional qualifiers, a state qualifier who is on varsity for his first time and two state alternates is great, especially with guys who dealt with injuries,” said coach Rudy Salinas.

The postseason was successful, especially considering that most of the team had a lack of postseason experience. Not only did the team finish second at regionals, but Salinas had his sophomore Ramin Abraham qualified for state.

“Ramin was very opportunistic and worked hard throughout the season and at sectionals. I think he can do well at this state tournament and also use it as experience for the upcoming years,” said Salinas.

One of the top wrestlers, sophomore Danny White, despite injuries his neck at Regionals, still understood what this season and especially the postseason meant for the team.

“I’m frustrated about the injury, but as a sophomore I feel like I can shift my focus to our future, which I think is very bright with a lot of talented wrestlers who work hard,” said White.

Another highlight was senior Christopher Rivera who capped off a great career with back-to-back 40 win seasons. This season he finished 43-6 and moved up to fourth all time on the ETHS wrestling wins list.

Their placing was not the only impressive part of the postseason. Salinas was particularly impressed by the team’s response to adversity.

“We dealt with three injuries in the conference tournament, but had the depth to replace those wrestlers. We also dealt with awful viruses which kept wrestlers out, but we were able to replace them as well,” said Salinas. “We also lost three starters from last year’s team. Everyone had a bigger role this season, and they stepped up.”