As an often overlooked sport, Woodside’s wrestling teams survived a rollercoaster of a season with many wrestlers out due to injuries and covid cases.
The girls defied the odds and headed to Central Coast Section (CCS), where senior AJ Richter became the first Woodside wrestler in many years to go to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state championships
“It was a really close and good match but I was way too injured for it to work out,” Richter said. “I’m super happy and surprised, as my goal was CCS, and now that I got to state, I hope that the younger team members take it as motivation to do the same.”
The girls’ wrestling squad result at the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) featured all of the girls advancing, led by first-place champions Richter and Team Captain Brynn Adasiewicz. The boys fought hard the next day but did not place.
“I am proud of our team,” Richter said. “We have faced so many challenges so I’m really proud of all of us for making it so far and accomplishing so much.”
With PAL out of the way, the next thing for the wrestlers who qualified to tackle was CCS.
“PALs is everyone in the league,” Adasiewicz stated. “They take the top three from PALs to CCS. Then you go against everyone else in the other leagues in the section. Then the top three from there go to the states.”
Although the season ended on a great note, the wrestling team has been through a tough journey.
“It’s really difficult coming after COVID. We had three weeks, total, but only like a week actually on the mats,” Richter said. “It was just awful. At times there were five people at practice because at least eight of them were out with COVID. Almost all of our tournaments got canceled.”
Although COVID had limited the amount of wrestling the team could do this past season, the team was still in high spirits.
“It’s always good to get new team members wrestling as a sport that’s kind of always on the edge of getting cut because we don’t get a ton of funding,” Richter stated. “A lot of people have still improved and were actually able to compete and learn or even win a match despite the fact that we do not have good practice access, and despite with COVID and sickness and injuries. I’m still happy that the season happened because there are moments like the team that you just get to have.”
Additionally, the team is closer than ever.
“When [Adasiewicz] made our video advertisement, everyone called the team a family,” Richter said. “It’s so supportive and it’s really sweet, which is surprising when you look at wrestling. We went out to get food after the hydration test. The entire team went to Town & Country [Shopping Center], and we got food. That was so nice.”
For the seniors, this season’s circumstances were not ideal, though they are very excited for the team’s future.
“I’m going to be graduating, and I think that a lot of people should definitely look into this sport. It’s very, very interesting and it’s very individual,” Adasiewicz concluded. “While this is a team-based sport, it allows you [to be the] one making the decisions and choosing what you want to do when you’re wrestling. That might be interesting to a lot of people.”
