Wrestling

After a third-place finish in PAL Bay standings last season, the co-ed wrestling squad has their eyes set on doing one better this year: winning the league. 

Coach Ernesto Nunez returns as the head coach of varsity and junior varsity, with the addition of assistant coaches Geo Aguilar, Neida Chavez and Luis Vasquez. 

Although there are many graduated wrestlers who are no longer on the mat, such as Nabil Balach and Erika Jiang, there are many returning wrestlers and new additions who have filled their positions.  Notably, junior Lauren Aguilar, who secured the Central Coast Section (CCS) Individual championship title, returns alongside seniors and team leaders River Lee and Ariuka Purev-Chang. 

In addition to their Burlingame team, the coaches are also coaching the Mills wrestling team— totaling 72 wrestlers on the mat at once. So many moving pieces has posed a challenge to practices, as has finding a gym that can accommodate the large numbers. For now, as the team acclimates to the different environments and many new additions, the early season strategy has been to practice and learn as they go. 

“Let’s just throw them [into] the fire and let’s see how they move. We can correct all the mistakes after we see them at full speed,” Coach Nunez said.