After a tremendous 2018-19 season, many Mustangs have shown a desire to turn the so-close-you-can-taste-it finishes into actually savoring the sweet taste of championships. I'll post some of the summer activities of ASIJ wrestlers in an attempt to give a peek into their commitment to individual improvement and, therefore, even better team results.
Liam - recovery from injury sidelined him for much of the 2018-19 season. The year before, though, we caught a glimpse of the promise brewing in this Mustang. That year, wrestling as a freshman on the varsity team, Liam took 3rd in the CAJ tournament and contributed 6 wins, including a critical pin in a very close dual meet against Yokota that would make the difference between our 3rd place (3-2) finish and Yokota's 4th place (2-3) finish in the conference standings. He was also named Most Improved for the team that year. conference record in 2017-18 was tied for 3rd on team at 3-1 (.750), didn't wrestle a league match last year dual meet record was 5th on team at 4-3 (.571) to 1-0 (1.000) by taking a forfeit last year overall record (incl JV) was 7-8 (.467) to 4-3 (.571) last year pins was 4th on team at 5 two years ago, had 1 (JV) last year takedowns was just outside the top five at 20, had 5 (JV) last year Outlook for 2019-20: Liam has grown a ton; I'm guessing he'll wrestle around 180 (maybe 215?). Over the summer he went to Japanese club wrestling on the weekends, hit the weights hard (he looks very strong), and followed the off season pull-up workout laid out by the coach. He'll be a welcome contribution back on the team full time this coming season and will surely be a tough out for opposing wrestlers.
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After a tremendous 2018-19 season, many Mustangs have shown a desire to turn the so-close-you-can-taste-it finishes into actually savoring the sweet taste of championships. I'll post some of the summer activities of ASIJ wrestlers in an attempt to give a peek into their commitment to individual improvement and, therefore, even better team results.
Ira: Coming off a sophmore year where he was in the top five in all major categories, he was able to maintain or improve in his junior year in almost every category: conference record in 2017-18 was 3-1, maintained at 3-1 (.750) last year dual meet record 3rd on team at 5-2 (.714) to 5th at 8-3 (.727) last year overall varsity record was 3rd at 16-8 (.667) to 4th at 16-6 (.727) last year pins was 2nd on team at 10 two years ago, was 3rd at 8 last year takedowns was 3rd on team at 33 up to 3rd on team at 43 last year 2018-19 tournament placewinner: CAJ - 3rd, Beast of the East - 3rd, Kanto Plain - 1st, Far East - 2nd 2018-19 Team Sportsmanship Award With the fewer matches he wrestled last year, he shaved off two losses while maintaining the number of wins and INCREASING his takedowns by over 30%. The astute reader will also notice that, despite better stats in almost all the categories, his team ranking actually dropped, a sign that the team as a whole got better. In looking at Ira's tournaments, he was the conference champ and only lost once in each of the other ones, including a memorable effort against a total stud from Kubasaki in the Far East finals. Outlook: Though his opponents this coming season will be different from last year, if we just figure he'll maintain the same record but not give up any upsets, I'd project an 18-4 record. He'll be counted on to compliment his winning personality with the leadership he and Rin, as the two seniors, will be expected to show on and off the mat. Reports have indicated he's been doing steady training, like 150 push ups and 150 sit-ups a day every day, to increase strength and prepare to go out on a high note in his last season at ASIJ. After a tremendous 2018-19 season, many Mustangs have shown a desire to turn the so-close-you-can-taste-it finishes into actually savoring the sweet taste of championships. I'll post some of the summer activities of ASIJ wrestlers in an attempt to give a peek into their commitment to individual improvement and, therefore, even better team results.
Rin: It may seem like there's not much higher to go after an undefeated junior season where he was team MVP and the Most Outstanding Wrestler at both the Kanto Plain conference tournament and the Far East tournament. To test his abilities against some of the best wrestlers in the US, he entered the 2019 USA Wrestling California Junior Freestyle tournament. His performance earned him an 8th place finish and a 3-star rating in at least one of the high school wrestler rating systems that college coaches use in recruiting. It's very rare to have someone in your high school who's being recruited to wrestle in college. Parents and other supporters of the team should just enjoy the time we have him. And his teammates should emulate what made him successful, and those around his weight class should try to be as good a partner as possible in the practice room. Rin also attended multiple college wrestling camps, including Columbia, the United States Naval Academy, and Princeton. There are several different types of summer camps, but the university camps are the ones where you're most likely to get noticed at the next level. We'll see how everything pans out in his future, but for this coming season at ASIJ we can expect a performance that builds on the incredible results he recorded last year. |
PhilSend me a note at [email protected] if you have ideas for a story or corrections/additions to these write-ups. Archives
March 2020
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