The Gunn wrestling team ended last season with an undefeated 8-0 record which promoted them to the DeAnza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

About thirty students came out for pre-season headed by coach Chris Horpel, Matt McGinn, Matt Struckmeyer and Tom Mullen. The coaches are waiting for more athletes to come in from fall sports. Horpel believes that the team will only grow. “I expect a 50-man roster after the team has trimmed itself down to size, which will be about ten athletes more than last year,” Horpel said. “We seem to be attracting better and better athletes each season.”

The team begins with last year’s record of 8-0. The team has not lost a meet in two years and the wrestlers and coaches hope this streak will continue even though they have many challenging dual-meets in the near future. “My goal is to challenge this team with even better competition,” Horpel said. “That will happen naturally now that we have moved up a division, but I want our entire schedule to reflect a higher level of competition.”

The main excitement for this year is competing in the higher division. Team members are working hard because there is much competition ahead of them. “It is important that we keep up same spirits from last season and not change our mentality. We can’t psych ourselves out,” junior Kiyoshi Kawano said.

Gunn wrestlers have a unique approach to this year’s season. “Coach says that we should not make long term goals for ourselves,” sophomore Miranda Der said. “We can’t jump ahead and just focus on [the Central Coast Section (CCS)] and other huge tournaments; we need to focus on the next ten minutes of our lives, and after that, the next ten.”

There is no team in CCS that works as hard and efficient as the Gunn team, according to senior Nadav Perl. “We have such determination and each practice we give it our all,” Perl said. “If you stop by the weight room during our practice, you can see the guys work so hard that it is scary.”

Practice consists of a rigorous daily routine. Wrestling manager junior Omer Birger witnesses this routine and takes note of how the team is working. “The coach will then come to the center of the mat and demonstrate a new defensive move that he wants the wrestlers to learn or improve,” Birger said. “The wrestlers then team up and go through repetitions in order to get that move done correctly. This process usually lasts one to two hours.”

The Gunn wrestlers are enthusiastic to head back onto the mat.