Matias Merino, a 16-year-old, leads the wrestling team as captain. Merino began wrestling in the second grade because he wanted to try something new and had always enjoyed it since he was a child. 

Merino says that his favorite aspects of wrestling are learning new things along with growing stronger, but wrestling can present certain challenges. Merino said some of the challenges are maintaining weight class as well as having to memorize all of his moves for his matches. Despite these obstacles, Merino overcomes them by jotting things down that will support him during his matches, “I write stuff down that will help me throughout my matches,”  said Merino.

During his time in high school wrestling, Merinos offered some advice to those just starting out in the sport. He said it is good to write down important information as well as to not joke around about practice, “Write down details and make sure to take practice seriously.” He also mentioned that you should always try to memorize your moves and keep them in your head.