Now that a little time has passed since the last victor’s hand was raised in the last match of the last tournament of the season, let us take a moment to review this remarkable year.
If last year‘s 3-2 conference record represented a return to respectability from the 2016-17 season’s 1-4 ‘doormat’ performance, this year’s 4-1 record signified an ascent reminiscent of the glory years, when ASIJ was consistently competing for conference and Far East championships. The Kanto Plain conference heavyweights since the turn of the decade have been Kinnick and St. Mary’s. Last year ASIJ Mustangs got bullied against the two powerhouses, winning just 8 of 39 total contests across three dual meets. Only one weight class, 215, went undefeated in the three dual meets, and Noah graduated in 2018. On the other hand, 8 weight classes went 0-3, with a 9th, heavyweight, only missing the 3rd loss because St. Mary’s didn’t have one either. It’s technically possible to win a dual meet while losing 8 matches, but not if any of the losses are forfeits, pins, or tech falls, and not without 5 pins or forfeits on the other side of the ledger. Short version: ASIJ was not close to winning against the big boys, and the outlook was not good, as the only 3-0 performer was lost to graduation. The wins for the Mustangs in conference last season included show-up-and-you-win contests against former fellow doormat Zama and a mini-CAJ team decimated by graduation. The dual meet against Yokota saw the Mustangs give up 5 forfeits (25 points) before winning 7 of 8 to eke out a 32-29 win. With that better-but-not-yet-great backdrop from a year ago, let’s take a look at how this season played out. In dual meets against conference foes Zama, CAJ, and Yokota, the Mustangs racked up an unbelievable 226 team points while only allowing an equally unbelievable 19 team points en route to a 4-0 record against them. You’d be hard-pressed to win a single dual meet scoring 19 points, let alone spreading those across 4 contests. Winning the expected ones, however, was not the defining moment of the season. ASIJ went toe-to-toe with Kinnick and St. Mary’s, compiling a combined 2-2 record against the most challenging competitors in the conference. In those four contests, ASIJ went 26-23 in individual matches leading to a combined team score of 117-105. Both of the losses were slim margins where an upset avoided or some other ‘what-if’ would have changed the L to a W. Victories over the two dominant teams in the most dominant conference in the Far East were complemented by near-victory team finishes in the Kanto Plain and Far East tournaments. In many cases where ASIJ did not take 1st in a weight class, the Mustang beat their nemesis at some other point in the season; and the Far East top three teams were all literally one match away from winning it all. To repeat, ASIJ was one match away from being crowned the top team in the entire Far East for the first time since 1995! What made this season so incredibly successful? There is no question that the work put in during the off-season and all the push-ups, running, and drilling during the season was the proximate cause. As for the root cause, there are two main drivers. First, returning wrestlers – good, medium, and bad – all got better. For example, Rin, who lost a team-low 3 times last year, was untouchable this year: in his 22 wins (against no losses) none of his opponents could score within 10 points of the team MVP. Zenon, a 10-8 wrestler last year, won 31 times (including nine exhibition wins against mostly varsity opponents) versus only one loss, a 2-2 tie decided by criteria (my opinion: have overtime until someone wins…but them‘s the rules) in his 7th(!) match against the #2 wrestler in the weight class who was otherwise undefeated. Dani, who went a fairly standard 3-14 in his first year as a wrestler last year, improved to 10-8, was undefeated in conference, and tied for fifth on the Most Pins list. There are several other examples, but I think these suffice to illustrate the point: the returning wrestlers got better. Besides the impressive increase in quality of the returning wrestlers, there was also an important influx of new blood that made up for losses due to graduation, moves, etc. over the summer. Remember that this is a sport with 13 weight classes. 11(!) Mustangs who were not on the team last year contributed at least one varsity win. That contribution cannot be overstated. There were several holes in last year's lineup. Filling in those holes turned formerly close wins into blowouts and formerly hopeless battles into winnable contests. More Mustangs at tournaments meant more wins that put rival wrestlers out and put ASIJ on the winners podium. These wrestlers won a lot of hardware. Counting individual medals and team wins is easily quantifiable. On the other hand, the boost they provided to the rest of the team, for example during practice (do you think Dani’s record would have improved that much without Masa to go against every day?), provided a less quantifiable but incredibly valuable injection to the team that is impossible to overlook. More and better, that was the secret to ASIJ’s success this year. The commitment and contribution of the coaches, managers, parents, boosters, and each individual wrestler made this the best season ASIJ has seen in their lifetime. To have been part of something so amazing is an experience that can be a well of strength and confidence that both departing and returning mustangs will be able to draw on next season and for the rest of their lives.
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March 2019
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