By Donya Hassanshahi
Isaak Mendoza, ’24 and Eczequiel Jaurrieta, ’22 are members of the varsity boys wrestling team for the 2021-2022 school year at Redwood High School.
In State, Mendoza is ranked 18 at 106 pounds. Jaurrieta is ranked 34 at 113 pounds.
With their high rankings, the two recently attended a competition the weekend of December 4, leaving Mendoza and Jaurrieta unaware of their current standings at the moment.
During their freshman year, both Mendoza and Jaurrieta were a part of the varsity wrestling team. This season, both boys remain on the varsity team.
Being in his sophomore year at Redwood High School, Mendoza explains his involvement with wrestling. His wrestling journey began around the age of five or six, “After baseball season [around age five], I kind of didn’t like it anymore and my dad was like, ‘you want to try wrestling?,’ and I was like, ‘okay.’ So, I’ve been doing it for like 10 years now. It’s grown on me.”
Photo courtesy of Mendoza
Considering his current standing in state, Mendoza feels the accomplishment is quite big.
Although his success, “[He] just feels [he] could do better. [He] feels [he] could be up there with the top guys, but [he] just got to work hard at it and put in the effort.”
This wrestling season at Redwood High School, Mendoza looks forward to going to State, putting in his maximum effort, and eventually achieving a spot in the top five.
To be a part of the varsity boys wrestling team, Mendoza emphasizes how great it is to be a team member:
“It’s a big deal for me because I’ve always wanted to go to Redwood for wrestling; I feel like we need something in Redwood to make a statement about ourselves.”
Isaak Mendoza, ’24
Photo courtesy of Jaurrieta
Senior wrestler Jaurrieta is currently ranked in the 30’s, though a recent competition altered his placement a little bit. Regardless of this, he is looking forward to building it up again.
At a young age, Jaurrieta became interested in the sport due to his older brother having participated. As time continued, Jaurrieta began his wrestling career.
“I always wanted to be better than my brother at everything so I did it as well,” he jokes.
In preparation for the season, his routine consists of, “hard work, discipline, and eating right- anything it takes to do great.”
Considering his current status, Jaurrieta expresses his outlook on the wrestling season, “Really good, actually. We have a pretty solid team, the future’s looking really bright, too. We have a couple guys who could place in State or even be State champions.”
Wrestling has definitely had an influenciale impact on Jaurrieta throughout his life, to present day, and will continue to in the future.
“Wrestling saved my life at one point. Wrestling is kind of my thing; it’s my personality, it’s what I’ve tailored my life towards, it’s what I want to do in my future.”
Eczequiel Jaurrieta, ’22 regarding what the sport means to him
Redwood wrestlers, both JV and varsity, will be taking place at El Diamante High School on December 15 at 5:30pm. Varsity will have a tournament Friday the 17 through Saturday the 18 at Buchanan High School.
Donya Hassanshahi
Donya Hassanshahi, '24 is a third year journalism student writing for the Redwood Gigantea. She seeks interest in the Humans of Redwood, hoping to inspire the Redwood community with her writing. You can reach her by her email at donya.hassanshahi@gmail.com.
Tags: boys wrestling, Donya Hassanshahi, humans of redwood, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, redwood sports, redwood wrestling, state, varsity, varsity boys wrestling, wrestling
