The Tiger’s wrestling season is well underway, and they have not been coming up short. With great placements in their past two tournaments, they are in the making for what looks to be a great season. 

The Tigers competed on January 14th at Paul Vl High School where they were runner-ups for the Panther Invitational. Senior Thomas Newman was able to claim second, and it did not go unnoticed. Newman shared that there was a lot of “mental and physical preparation” that went into getting ready for this match up. Newman was facing an opponent from PVI that had beaten him last year. He took the challenge head on. He knew what to expect and how to prepare. With all of his hard work, Newman was able to pin his opponent within a minute. The team overall had great efforts at the invitational with Anthony Ciotoli taking 1st; Arjun Manjuanatha, Esau Oliveira, Peyton Beal, Thomas Newman, and Gordon Manfield all earning 2nd; Jack Kellen earned 3rd, and Nick Kellen 4th.

A few weeks ago, the Tigers were seen competing at Stone Bridge for the Potomac District Dual Tournament. Taking what they had learned from the last tournament, the Tigers stepped up and took home first place. According to the Indy Wrestling Instagram account (@indywrestlingva), there were “big pins by Rafael Hipolito, Jack Kellen, and Joseph Johnson.” Junior Joseph Johnson recently placed 5th with hard efforts at the Joe Verciglio Tournament. He explained that one of his biggest challenges so far this season has been “staying aggressive late in matches and sticking to (his) stuff instead of trying new things.” Johnson proved to rise above these challenges, pinning his opponent to support the Tigers 37-35 victory over Stone Bridge.

Johnson says that “with persistence and dedication I believe this team can rise to new heights,” and he couldn’t have been more right. The Tigers won the Clark County Duals on January 28, earning them a 17-1 regular season and Potomac District Champs. This past weekend, the Tigers took home 6th place in the 5a state championship. Shoutout to Anthony Ciotoli and Rafael Hipolito for winning their respective weight classes. This was Hipolito’s third state win and has closed out his career with over 100 wins. Indy Wrestling had a memorable season with many feats accomplished. They’ve proved their ability persevere and climb to the top. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for this program.