IHS Wrestling’s senior night took place on Wednesday, January 14, during a boys’ and girls’ team dual meet against Mission San Jose High School. From half past five to well past seven, energy levels in the IHS main gym skyrocketed; highly charged matches had the crowd yelling in support of their schools’ athletes as they took center-mat, relying on strength, aerobic fitness, arsenals of strategies, and instinct that they had spent the past months developing. And hours of training had clearly paid off: Irvington wrestled their way to their first win for the boys’ team, and an overall win on their home turf. The night’s highlights included the victories of captain Aaron Palacios (12) and varsity wrestler Iris Apostolopoulos (10). The night ended with a celebration of graduating senior athletes: Palacios, and also Alex Alvarado (12), Ayesha Ghuman (12), Disney Guandique (12), and Sana Syed (12).

Irvington’s wrestling team has faced significant challenges this season. For instance, a change in coaching meant no preseason for interested athletes, and adapting to different training, and scheduling difficulties meant a new “study hall” was implemented — during which athletes would spend an additional hour in school, completing schoolwork — and daily practices would end an hour later than usual. Despite these difficulties, the new head coach, Tony Caraballo, who wrestled throughout high school, has found that students have persevered with optimism. He described the majority of Irvington wrestlers as fairly new to the sport, meaning that they’re “basically learning on the go.” He’s seen athletes make substantial progress over the season, and wants to see positive momentum carry over to a dual meet at Newark Memorial on Tuesday, January 27, and MVAL Championships, which will take place at Irvington on Saturday, February 7. 

In the meantime, the team is finding new areas for growth. Darius Motahari (10), who is co-captain with Palacios, noted, “I think we’re doing a pretty good job, especially with our cardio, because the new coach is more cardio-focused. I think where we could grow further is in the weight room, because we don’t use it a lot — we might be a bit less intimidating than the other teams.” As the team continues to progress, they remain close-knit and admirably passionate about their sport. Syed, looking back on her last year with IHS Wrestling, reflected, “Out of all the sports or seasons I’ve participated in, this is my favorite team. Everybody’s supportive of each other, whether we win or lose. Everybody’s laughing, and it’s just a great time.”