In the depths of the East Building, tucked away in the maze-like labyrinth that is the Enloe locker rooms, reside the Enloe men’s and women’s wrestling teams. Walking in, you’re met with energetic wrestlers ready to put their all into every practice. The mats are laid down, and shoes and schoolbags are strewn across the floor, but the messy room is no reflection of their innermost state. Every wrestler stands at attention, ready to listen to announcements and lock in to one of their daily two-hour long practices full of conditioning, drills, and self-improvement.
Enloe wrestling is intense. Team members go to tournaments, which can be up to 14 hours long, every Saturday of the wrestling season. According to fourth-year wrestler and men’s team co-captain Ronith Suda, “90 percent of wrestling is just mental.” Facing physical strain, long hours, intimidation, and self-doubt, wrestlers have a lot that can cloud their minds if they’re not careful. Co-captain, senior Lucas Rogers says, “For a match, it’s really easy to get caught up thinking about, like, man, this guy I’m going against, he must have put in so many hours of practice, he must be so good.” However, he emphasizes that “you gotta get those things out of your mind, otherwise, like, you’re losing before the match even starts. … No matter how good [your opponent] is, no matter how many matches he’s won, that doesn’t change anything about how much work you’ve put in, right? So you just have to be certain in what you have done [in practice] and have absolute confidence.”
Everyone has their own pre-match routine. For example, co-captain Justice Walton enjoys listening to music before matches to help clear his mind. And similarly to Lucas, Justice says, “I go out there thinking I’m gonna win, rather than thinking I’m gonna lose.” To support his teammates, he leads by example and cheers for others who are still wrestling while he’s on the bench. Junior Quin Mathis, the women’s team captain, adds, “Most of the time [during] a match, you’re more against yourself than the other person.” For a wrestler, being confident and having a good state of mind going into a match are of utmost importance.
A collective team spirit permeates through Enloe wrestling. Sophomore and first-year wrestler Aaron Gim says, “It’s very inspiring to see [the captains and upperclassmen] get a lot better, and it makes me feel like I can also get better.” Co-captain Ronith Suda is an example of the type of growth that inspires others. “When I joined wrestling, it humbled me a lot … I thought I was on top of the world, but then I realized that I’m not. … There’s so much for me to grow from,” he says. “At first, it was hard. I was on the verge of tears every time I lost a match.” But then, he started asking himself the big questions: “How can I grow from it? … What could I do better? What can I do in the off season to help me, to make sure this doesn’t happen again?” He concludes, “Just because you lose at the beginning that doesn’t mean you’ll stay the same and end up like that. You’ll always improve.” At the time of his interview, Aaron was yet to win any matches, but with support from the team and hours of hard practice, he won three matches the following Saturday, Jan. 17, at a tournament at Wakefield High School.
Coach Justin McWilliams says he “love[s] building culture and building community.” His favorite part of coaching the men’s team is that “kids come and show up at the interest meeting and don’t know each other, and by the end of the season, they’re best friends.” Quin says, “By the end of the season, you have like 20 people that you’re super close with that you’d never think you’d be friends with.”
This season, the teams scored 178 wins overall at 436 matches. Coach Williams says that the team often doesn’t have wrestlers to compete in every weight class, especially on the women’s wrestling team, so students of all experience levels are welcome to try out. To new wrestlers, Quin says, “It’s not scary. It’s not impossible, and it’s not dangerous.” At its core, wrestling is about strategy, discipline, physical intensity, and mental clarity. As Lucas puts it, wrestling is about “overcoming the boundaries that you think you have.” If you are looking for a way to get active, a source of discipline and personal character, and an encouraging community that will celebrate your wins, consider joining the wrestling team next winter. Go Enloe Wrestling!
