Winter is quickly approaching, and with the change in temperature also comes the switch into winter sports. Wrestling is one of the ten sports that is starting for the winter season. Being a no-cut team, both girls and boys wrestling will begin on Nov. 11.

The teams will be joined with new coaches. For the girls, Joan Lindgren will be joining the team to assist coach Caitlin Casey, and for the boys, coaches Clarence Jones, Matt Evans, and Orion Dale will be new to the program as well.

Last year, girls wrestling had a successful season, with five out of eight members making it into regionals and three of them making sectionals. Casey has been the head coach for two years, but involved with Niles West wrestling for five. She is proud of last year’s overall record, but is mainly delighted by the personal growth new athletes showed last year.

“Last year we saw athletes that have never done wrestling…go from knowing absolutely nothing at the start of the season to excelling in the end. Their hard work and determination is so admirable to me. I hope that this year we can continue to motivate our athletes to dig in, and find their strength,” Casey said.

The boys wrestling team were not as successful last year, as they found themselves in many tough matches. Head Coach Anthony Petrusonis has been coaching wrestling for 26 years, but the head coach for three. He is still proud of the hard work that the athletics put in last year.

“I am proud of how our kids competed every match and worked hard every practice,” Petrusonis said.

Wrestlers are excited for the season to begin, and are already setting personal goals for the season. Senior Alex Hernandez has been wrestling for three years, and enjoys the self-discipline that wrestling teaches him. As this is his last year, he hopes to make state, something he achieved his sophomore year.

“I plan to work getting stronger every day…get my three all conferences, and go back to state my last year,” Hernandez said. 

Senior Aaizah Khan is the girls wrestling captain and has been a part of the program since her freshman year. She is excited to meet new coaches that will be a part of the team and grow the wrestling community before she leaves.

“I wanna support the team, most of all, but I want to just show everyone that, like, women can wrestle as well,” Khan said.

Wrestling is both physically and mentally draining on athletes, and both teams still have plenty to work on for this season to remain strong and achieve a successful season.

“We need to drill harder with more intention during our own practices…the mental toughness required to get back up and get on the mat is an incredible feat,” Casey said

The boys wrestling team has taken great advantage of the weight room over during off-season, and plan to return this year stronger than before.

“[We hope to] win the CSL North and have multiple state qualifiers,” Petrusonis said.