The wrestling team attended the Virginia State Championship meet on March 1, and returned home with a first place finisher for the first time in five years: Will Brooks.
Every year, the wrestling team has a chance to compete in the Virginia High School League (VHSL) finals, which can get them into the VHSL Championships depending on where they place as a team. Four of the team’s members earned a place in the top five at States, making the team come in sixth place overall.With both team and individual performances weighing in so heavily, training isn’t the easiest, especially when preparing for such a big match.
“We focused more on certain positions that we knew [the team] would run into during the state tournament,” Co-head coach John Gonzales said. “So, each practice was more focused on certain positions that we thought they were going to get into at the state tournament.”
Training different positions that the team would be put in is not the only preparation that is needed before the championship matches. Since Wrestling matches follow what weight class individual wrestlers are in, each wrestler needs to watch what they eat and how they diet alongside the physical training aspect so that they can qualify appropriately.
“I dieted for three months, eating 230+ grams of protein a day and no ultra processed foods,” Will Brooks said. “I trained [for] about three hours a day; almost everyday for the last three years. I managed my sleep the entire season and managed my weight masterfully along with lifting through the season.”
On the day of the state competition, Brooks had to win four matches on the same day. In his final match, Brook was up by 16 to 12 and due to his opponent getting injured, Brook became the state champion for his division by injury default.
All of the work that Brooks put into his wrestling season has paid off with him now carrying the honor of State Championship as a Junior. With the help of multiple coaches from the past and present, Brooks was able to improve on his skills that led him to this historic victory.
“I did expect Brooks to win,” Coach Gonzales said. “He had a plan. He followed the plan. He was very disciplined in his diet and working out and getting enough sleep. And he just had a laser focus on winning the state title, so there’s no doubt that he wasn’t going to win it.”
