From self-esteem to motivation, Lincoln wrestlers report a multitude of benefits from being on the team. Wrestling is a no-cut sport at Lincoln that has over 40 members. Lincoln’s wrestlers spend the season learning moves and sparring, before they compete in various tournaments.
Sophomore Cordelia Conser says a typical day of practice consists of warm ups, drills and sparring.
“Usually, we’ll start at four, and then we’ll warm up. We usually do a warm up circle; we run in a circle and skip and there’s a bunch of tumbling,” she said. “Then we’ll do warm up stretches and then we’ll do stance in motion drills. And then we’ll start practicing the wrestling moves.”
This is Conser’s first year on the team and she is excited to improve.
“It’s very demanding because you have to put the effort in if you want to see improvement, but you do feel a lot of motivation to get better when you’re in the room,” she said. “I just want to improve because it’s my first year.”
Conser has seen improvements already in the first part of the season, and explains that getting better helps with self-esteem.
“I used to not be able to do a lot of stuff, and now I can do it,” she said. “You can really feel a lot more confident after wrestling.”
Junior Nico Farinola has been wrestling for 14 years and is currently ranked third in the state. He emphasizes the positive community of wrestlers.
“You really become friends with everyone there, because you’re around each other so much,” he said. “It becomes kind of like a family.”
Conser agrees, and has also felt welcome on the team.
“My favorite part of the team is the community,” said Conser. “Everyone is really supportive. I like to say we’re competitive, but it’s a friendly competition.”
Freshman Eli Borrayo has been wrestling for eight years, and placed second at the state competition last year. This year, he is ranked third in the state in his weight class, and in the recent Don York Invitational, he placed first. His favorite part of the sport is the way it motivates him.
“It shows you that even in your darkest times you have to keep moving and keep wrestling, because if you don’t, it’s just not going to go the way you want to,” said Borrayo.
