While Poway took the State Championship, Patrick Henry had a record year in many areas that aren’t as obvious. The team was poised for a strong showing with a roster of nearly 40 wrestlers, most of whom were first year wrestlers. Six seniors were ready for a strong season as were other returning wrestlers. Last year the team sent two wrestlers to State Championships and the goal was to have at least one return. Other goals included a girls wrestling team and a Middle School wrestling program.
Girls team full of first year wrestlers had an exciting season. It began with freshman Violet Gray and sophomore Destiny Torres placing at a couple of novice tournaments and then the team transitioning to Varsity with three placers at the Clairmont Varsity. A Ukrainian refugee Renata Usharuk joined the team part through the season. With experience in Sambo and Jiujitsu she helped the team to get to a 5-2 dual record. She took third place along with freshman Aubrey Lund at the City Championships. Aubrey Lund became the first Patrick Henry girl to place at CIF taking 5th place. The team of seven is graduating one Senior, Alexandra Hopkins who is planning to attend Boise State University. The team bonded over the sport and camaraderie and is looking to grow and improve next year.
Boys also had much success. The team had many tough wrestlers this year, but due to injuries and a young squad the team had a tough showing in League with a 3-2 record and 5-8 overall. Patrick Henry had three wrestlers in the running for League Championship with Koa Altmeyer being 5-0 in league, Alex Adler 4-1 and Ethan Vinoray with 4-1. Ethan was the returning CIF finalist and state qualifier, with his one loss occurring due to mid match injury. Senior Barrett Talbot took fourth this year at City Championships. Alex Adler became the first Patrick Henry wrestler to place four times at the CIF championship, taking 7th place and winning two matches at Masters. Sophomore Abdullah Alshami placed at CIF for the second time taking 7th as well, while senior Francisco Saroldi-Gonzalez, took 3rd place in one of the toughest CIF competitions in a long time and was also the runner-up at City Championships.
Patrick Henry JV also had a good year. With a record number of freshmen and JV they were able to win the Madison JV Championships and many placed at the Clairmont JV championships. The freshman team competed at the La Costa Canyon and Mount Carmel Freshman Championships. Anthony Mokhov and Nicholas Arambula both placed fourth at the San Diego Freshman championships. Both were part of the Middle School wrestling club at Pershing and Lewis, showing that starting early can have a big impact on kids.
We are very excited for next year with San Diego Unified adopting wrestling as one of its new Middle School sports. The added two to three years will lead to many podium finishes for the Patriots and be a big boost to the San Diego Conference overall. The other benefits will be kids getting into shape, creating friendships and finding success on and off the mat. Patrick Henry Wrestlers had a 2.9 unweighted GPA with many wrestlers having some of their best years. All sports help kids with goal setting, grit and perseverance. Few sports provide a bigger challenge and larger results than wrestling.
To learn more about Middle School wrestling go to Middle School Spring Registration
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