It was December 27, 2021 a cold and rainy day, and me and the whole Warde wrestling team had a big tournament in Lowell, Massachusetts. This tournament was a big one not only for wrestling but also for the team, as a whole we stayed in a hotel and we really all bonded the night before, taking our minds off of the big day ready to come tomorrow. I go to bed early, getting a good night's sleep to be ready to compete. 

As the morning rolls around, me and all the team head to the Arena having to weigh in for the first day. This arena is packed with teams from New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Looking around all the mats, as a team we really see a;; the good competition we are going to have to compete against. Me and the team warm up, our captains are leading us through it, me and my warm up partner get all warmed up and ready to scrap with some of the best kids around. The tournament operated pretty nicely, meaning all of our brackets were up without a problem pretty quickly, making the tournament start right on time. I took a glance at my bracket realizing that if I make it to the quarter finals I have a senior, who is easily the best kid in New England. I ran through my first two matches easily, without breaking a sweat, same with my next opponent though. 

I step on the mat not nervous at all because I know I have nothing to lose against this opponent. We shook hands and the ref blew the whistle. I realized right away how strong this kid was compared to me and any other kids I have faced so I knew this would be difficult. I get in on a nice shot, hoping to finish it but I get out muscled and taken down. The match ended pretty quickly after that, I was pinned pretty quickly and would now have to wrestle the match to place or go home. This time though, it was against the two seed so I knew there were no guarantees that I would be placing here. The match rolls around pretty quickly, still trying to shake off that loss from my previous match. I know I need to move on and forget about it if I wanna wrestle my best and place in this tournament. After the first period of our match the score is still tied at 0-0, and I get choice and choose to stay on our feet, I start attacking more and get a nice takedown for 2 points. I quickly put the kid to his back and got the pin! My whole team was so excited for me, but it wasn’t over yet, I still had a chance to take third place if I won a couple more matches. My next 3 matches were easy wins putting me in position where if I win my final match I take third place out of all 32 kids in my bracket. 

We were told to leave the arena for a couple hours so they can clean and set up before the final matches start. After about two hours there's a mob of wrestlers waiting outside the arena entrance waiting to get in. Outside, it was about 20 degrees and everyone was freezing unprepared that we would all be sitting outside in the cold without being let in. Finally, after about 30 minutes we get let into the arena and are only given a short amount of time to warm up for the final match. My next kid is really good, and a top 5 kid in New England. The match in the beginning starts off pretty evenly, but that didn't last too long, and I get taken down and put to my back. I ended up losing the match 9-3 not too disappointed about losing but deep down knew that it was a very winnable match for me. I stand on the podium happy to have placed fourth, but I know that next year I will be back and I will place higher. 

Shortly after my highschool season, me and my club team made a trip down to Virginia Beach for a national highschool competition. This tournament is a 7 hour drive away and is separated by grades, as well as the best kids in the country come here to compete with many college scouts in attendance. I wasn't going my normal weight for this, meaning I was going to be a little smaller than my opponents were leaving me at a slight disadvantage, but I knew that wasn’t going to matter for me. The drive heading to the tournament was very dreadful and felt like it took forever. As we arrive at the arena, we get there earlier than needed and have to wait around an hour for weigh-ins. This tournament hosts the weigh-ins the day before meaning after we weigh in we get to wait a whole nother day before the competition really does begin.  Once me and my team had all checked in and made weight we were very hungry and decided to all go to a steakhouse only ten minutes away. Once we all grubbed our food, we decided to go to our rental house to relax and get ready for tomorrow. The house was located on a beach and in a gated community where all of the houses were very big and fancy. 

We all relaxed when we got back to the house and very quickly it got very late. We went for a late night walk on the beach to relax our minds before returning to our rooms at around 9 o’clock to get ready for bed. We set an alarm and woke up at 6am to head to the arena about 15 minutes away. The room is packed, filled with more than 40 wrestling mats. We lace up our shoes and begin the warm up as the brackets come out. My first round I have a bye meaning I get to wait a whole round and watch my opponent wrestle before he gets to face me. I head over to the match where my opponent will be and notice that he isn’t the best kid i’ve been against so it should be a definite win. 

As 45 minutes goes by, I get assigned to my mat to wrestle the kid I previously watched wrestle. The match started off in favor of me as I scored quick points but my opponent isn’t backing down either, he responds with some points on the scoreboard as well. But, in the end it was me who came out on top winning by a total of 5 points, even though I won the match didn’t go as expected, it was tougher than I thought but a good warm up for the upcoming rounds to come. The next kid I had to face was a kid from Texas who was seeded at this tournament, which means he was projected to either place or do really well. Going into this match I let my nerves get to me because I knew that this kid has won many high level matches and has placed at many national tournaments just like this one. We shook hands and he quickly scored a takedown on me for two points, and put me right to my back for the quick pin. 

I was very sad after this loss and was thinking negatively about the next matches to come. My teammates and coaches were trying to get me to brush that loss off, knowing I had the potential to still possibly place or at least win my next couple of matches.  My next two matches were basically a run through, winning them with ease, but once again ran into another good kid, this time from California.

This kid seemed much bigger than me and looked alot stronger, but progressing through the match I realized how winnable it really was. The score ended up being 1-0 in favor of my opponent with short time, I knew I had to go for one final push. I dove in onto a shot, got to his legs but sadly, the kid was able to stay up with great defense to avoid getting taken down. I was very disappointed in the loss but also at the same time knew there was nothing I could do about it. I wrestled my heart out, and would be back here again. I knew that losing here as a freshman meant nothing at all and I still have 3 more years to place at this tournament.