Photo by Kiera Classen

After TJ won 66-12 against Evergreen on Friday, January 27th, the wrestling team is looking forward to league, which TJ has won the past four years.

“We went into the Evergreen match knowing we were going to win; they brought like seven guys and forfeited so many matches, we would have won even if we lost every match,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita. “Really the best thing was we had a good hard practice that day and ended with a good win. The team did well,” said Laurita.

As for the league, TJ is hosting it and looks to win the tournament for the fifth straight time. “This is really the only time we see any of the DPL teams, so the winner of this tournament will be league champ,” said Laurita. TJ doesn’t look to have much competition  going into the meet, according to Laurita. “East would only be the other competitive team. Lincoln was supposed to match us and stay with us, but we dismantled them when we saw them earlier this season.” Laurita oozed confidence for the team saying, “We know we’ll win if we simply out-prepare the rest of the teams.”

The League Tournament is on Friday, February 4, starting at 9 a.m. in the gym.

Photo by Kiera Classen

After two tough pins, and then two times of losing by virtue of mere points, TJ wrestling couldn’t have won even in the last match when Junior Marcus Allen pinned his matchup quickly.

“I’m not sure what happened,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita. “I just think the guys got jittery with this being the first match at home, and wrestling in front of their fans.” TJ wrestlers Ron Feiber and Joe Johnson put forth valiant efforts against their opponents, but found themselves pinned at the end of the match. “Their guys just got them down,” said Laurita. There were bright spots in the match for TJ, with Allen and Junior Corey Hernandez having the fastest pins on the team.

TJ has to turn around quickly after a bad loss. “I just have to get them back into the saddle, and get them back on the mat for our next meet.” TJ next faces Heritage at Heritage on January 20, at 6 p.m.

Photo by Kiera Classen

The TJ Wrestling squad is looking at about 15 returning wrestlers who all have great varsity experience. Coach Mike Laurita said, “With as many returning wrestlers, we won’t settle for anything less than a 5^th straight league championship.”

The team usually demolishes everyone in the league, but this year the main competition is the East Angles and the Lincoln Lancers. Last year, the team came close to not getting the league title and the matches were closer than they expected. Coach Laurita says, “We hope to fix the mistakes early so we can win league and take wrestlers to state.”   Laurita says that some of the mistakes from last year were that a lot of the boys were not prepared mentally and he thought they were better than they displayed at regionals last year.

The wrestlers also dealt with a lot of injures last year, so during this year’s preseason they are looking to get everyone physically healthy and mentally tough. They start their competitive season on Friday December 2^nd, at the survivor series where each team member will wrestle a total of 10 matches throughout the tournament. This will be a great way for the wrestlers to get back into the swing of things and also show other schools just what they are made of.

Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

When the TJ guys wrestled last Friday onto Saturday, they came out with a huge disappointment when only one of the wrestlers placed out of 12 participants. TJ faced some of the strongest competitors in state and just could not pull through.

“This was a really disappointing year for regionals,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita. “Our goal is to always have kids qualify for state. The team is young and I hope that they will learn from this experience, and take what they saw for the future.” The team has a lot of learning to do after this year, and they now know what to expect next time they go into regionals.

The only person that was able to place was Garmaa Shinebayer, who wrestled a total of five guys and placed overall 6^th, still not being able to qualify for state. “I had a lot of pressure because this was my second year wrestling and my first time at regionals,” said Shinebayer. “I was thinking about winning and nothing else. I just wanted to fight and did better than I expected initially.”

Sheik Kamara was one of the wrestlers who was wrestling for the first time at regionals and was taken by surprise from the difficulty of the competition. “This was one of the toughest matches I had. You could tell how much different the wrestlers are in regionals than in normal matches,” said Kamara. “It was great to experience this type of competition and use it in the future.”

The guys finished their season with disappointed that they could not do as well as they wanted, but the spirits for next season are high. TJ wrestlers are expecting big things next year; keep a watch for them next year Spartans!

Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

The Wrestlers went to the League Tournament at Kennedy last Saturday, bringing a total of 13 guys and managed to beat the odds against them, coming out with the 4^th consecutive win as City Champions.

The boys beat the other nine schools by a total of 17.5 points, coming out with a total score of 180.5. The high schools that participated in the League included East, Abraham Lincoln, West, John F. Kennedy, North, South, Montbello, and George Washington. “It was a really exciting match to watch. The TJ wrestlers represented out school very well and you could tell that they have been coached on a high level and knew what they were doing,” said Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Lani Nobles. “It was great beating East over again. They are definitely our biggest rivals.” East took second place with a total of 163 points.

The whole team placed in the League helping with the total score. The guys who placed 1^st are Corey Hernandez, Layth Dieyleh, and Noel Estrada. Daniel Webster, Luke Fabian, Bennet Rodriguez, and Garmaa Shinebayer all took 2^nd place. Hagen Corral, and Joe Johnson came out in 3^rd place. The guys that pulled through in 4^th place are Elias Valenzuela-Ruiz, Sheik Kamara, Tony Rivera, and Daniel Cole.

“We could have done better, but we did what it took to win. It wasn’t pretty, but we eventually got there,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita. “Now we have to get ready for the regionals that are coming up this weekend.” Laurita hopes to take as many wrestlers as possible to regionals and so far has 12 guys who will for sure be wrestling for TJ.

The whole TJ staff along with the wrestlers is in high spirits about regionals; this was a win that proved how great the Spartan wrestlers really are. “TJ was dominant throughout the whole match. We are all proud of all the wrestlers; they have really proved themselves this season,” said Special Education Teacher Dominic Lucero.

Laurita has impressed everyone as he once again wins the City Championship and prepares his wrestlers for regionals. “He [Laurita] is doing a great thing with wrestling right now. When I hired him for this position five years ago I knew that he would be able to turn the program around, and he did. Our wrestling program is now at the top in the state,” said Nobles. “Now we don’t expect any less from Laurita; we know that he will always coach great wrestlers that will make it to state.”

The wrestlers this week will be preparing for the Regional Competition that will start Friday 11^th and continue on to Saturday 12^th. Make sure to come and support the TJ wrestlers at Westminster.

Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

When the Heritage High School wrestling team walked through the doors an aura of competition kicked in. The match started at 7 p.m. with all the guys getting weighed in. Heritage is a duel team that wrestles at 5A and has a team record of 16-1. TJ lost with a score of 69-3 and on Saturday went to the finals at Rock Canyon.

“This was a tough match for us because the opposing school has a solid team. We were also unfortunate to have some forfeits when some of the players could not meet their weight level,” said Sophomore Kenny Ojeda, who also wrestled with a back problem that he suffered from a previous match.

The loss took a hit on the guys and the team in general. “This is a match that we don’t really want to remember or talk about,” said Assistant Coach Matt Laurita. The only wrestler who pulled a win from Friday’s match was Layth Dieyleh with a score of 7-4.

Saturday morning the guys geared up to go the finals at Rock Canyon where they were sure to make up for the loss from last night. The wrestling team won the finals with a score of 4-0. They took on Thornton winning 36-25, and winners from the match include: Corey Hernandez, Layth Dieyleh, Daniel Webster, Joe Johnson, Bennett Rodriguez, and Garmaa Shinebayer.

The team then went up against Rock Canyon winning 36-28 and winners include: Elias Valenzuela-Ruiz, Layth Dieyleh, Noel Estrada, Daniel Webster, Joe Johnson, Bennett Rodriguez, and Garmaa Shinebayer. The next competitors were then Lincoln and again TJ came out with a win 44-24 and winners include: Corey Hernandez, Elias Valenzuela-Ruiz, Marc Chinchilla, Layth Dieyleh, Noel Estrada, Joe Johnson, Bennett Rodriguez, and Garmaa Shinebayer.

The final match of the day for TJ was against West, TJ winning with a 40-11 score; winners include: Corey Hernandez, Layth Dieyleh, Marc Chinchilla, Noel Estrada, Daniel Webster, Joe Johnson, Bennett Rodriguez, and Garmaa Shinebayer. In the final the Spartans wrestled against Eaglecrest High School and did not come out with a win, but the wrestlers who did win are Layth Dieyleh, and Noel Estrada. The Spartans finished 2^nd overall.

The next match on the calendar for the TJ wrestlers is this Wednesday at 6 p.m. Come out and support the wrestlers as they take on Mountain Vista.

photo by Hanna Kazlouskya

Wrestlers felt the tension and excitement when stepping onto the mat against Fairview High School on Thursday the 6th, for their 13th match of the season, and the Spartans came out with their sixth consecutive win by a close score of 38-36. This allowed the young team to improve their record to 6-7.

Fairview was tough competition for TJ, because the Spartans have never beaten them before in a match. “They have a strong team of around 50 kids who have good coaching and wrestle at the 5A level,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita. “I have faith in my boys and believe that we are ready to go up against any hard competition. This was a tough match, but we pulled through with a win.”

For the first week after break the team experienced minor changes with the lineup when the coaches moved some athletes around to wrestle at different weight classifications. Sophomore Kenny Ojeda experienced this change when he wrestled his competitor at 130 lbs. while he weighs 125 lbs. “I have been working hard at practice for the past couple of weeks, getting ready to wrestle kids who are heavier than me,” said Ojeda.

The team is heading off to Pueblo South for the Colt Classic Tournament this Saturday, January 15, at 8:00 a.m. “This is going to be another great challenge for the guys so that they can prepare for the state competition,” said Assistant Coach Matt Laurita.

Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

On December 10^th, TJ Wrestlers went to Rangeview with a mindset of winning and never giving up. They ended up taking the “W” with a score of 45-36.

“It was a close call and came down to the last match with Bennett Rodriguez winning his match in 33 seconds by pinning the guy,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita. This was a record win so far this season from Rodriguez, a sophomore on the team.

The players who earned the points for the team overall were seniors Spencer Ladd, Garmaa Shinebayar, and sophomores Elias Valenzuela, Layth Dieyleh, Noel Estrada,Hagen Coral, Corey Hernandez, Joe Johnson. “It would be nice to put out all the players on the team on the line up and have them all wrestle. We are trying to have them improve their grades and keep them in check of their weight,” said Laurita.

This was the last match the guys have before an invite that they are attending at Greely at the University of Northern Colorado. “There is a tough Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament coming up, so the guys need to get in as many wins as possible. It is a good practice for them, especially when they are going to be going up against some of the toughest competition in the country,” said Laurita.

The Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament is on December 17^th and 18^th at Greely.

Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

There are many students who begin a sport at TJ and make it their goal to succeed and excel at that sport. Sophomore Noel Estrada is no different, as he pushes his limits to stellar boundaries in wrestling.

Just like many other students who try out a new sport during freshman year, Estrada joined wrestling as a beginner. He became interested in wrestling because of his brother Guillermo Estrada, who also wrestled since his freshman year and graduated from TJ last year. “He motivated me to join and helped me begin wrestling. My goal was to try and be as good as him, and hope that one day I can beat him in a match,” said Estrada.

Since that first practice, Estrada has been coming to practice every day to try and get better and keep up with the upperclassmen. It only makes sense that Estrada’s favorite moment from wrestling is when he beat last year’s senior Adam Simpson, for his spot. “It felt great to see that all my hard work was coming together, and beating a senior my freshman year felt great! That was the moment when I knew that wrestling is my sport,” said Estrada.

Being a student and an athlete comes easy to Estrada. He is on top of his work and manages to fit school into his rough schedule. “School is a big part of sports and what I want to do. I need to keep my grades up and stay out of trouble if I want to wrestle,” said Estrada. “Coach [Laurita] makes sure that we have everything up and good to go before our matches, and if it isn’t, then when it comes time for practice he makes us work harder. The coaches help me build up my mental toughness and only think positively.”

Even though wrestling is an individual sport, there is still a lot of team bonding and support that goes on. “Noel is really a great team player. He has helped me out and given me tips when I needed it most. I am glad that he has my back, and that I have the opportunity to wrestle alongside with him,” said Kenny Ojeda, a sophomore on the team.

Laurita says that Estrada has been a strong asset for the team, helping to rank higher and score more. “It’s nice to have a kid who is tough and willing to work hard and practices every day. Since freshman year his technique has gotten much better, and he has matured as an individual wrestler; you can tell he is on his way to becoming even better,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita.

Wrestling is a sport that relies on both the physical and mental strength of an individual. Estrada has experienced both in his two years of wrestling. “This is a sport where it’s all based on your strengths, and if you mess up, there is no one else to blame but yourself. I’ve got more mental strength now, and do not give up as easily. It’s all about perseverance, and having the goal to win.”

As a sophomore on the team, Estrada has gained leverage among his teammates and is now setting examples for the freshmen. “I have more confidence about myself now. I know that I have younger kids who are now looking up to me, and I need to help them out and be a leader,” said Estrada. “When I go out to compete during matches, it’s not as intimidating as it was when I was a freshman. It’s a good change to have.”

To keep up with the big dogs on the team Estrada has to work harder and make sure he stands out to the coaches. “I run every night to stay in shape, work really hard during practices, and make sure to keep my weight always balanced. Being healthy is an important factor in wrestling, so I try to do my best in maintaining good health,” said Estrada.

This year is a challenging year for all the wrestlers, with many tough matches and a long road to get to the state competition, but Estrada has his eyes locked on the gold, and is getting things done. “I have my mind set straight; I need to make it to state and do my best to place at state. That is why practice is crucial to me. I am trying my hardest to become better and learn something new each day.”

As with any other sport, wrestling teaches its players many fundamental lessons that can be used throughout the player’s life. “Wrestling keeps me going by making me believe I can do something on my own and accomplish a goal. I know that going through with this experience I will learn to depend on myself more, and gain the mental strength that will help me in the future.”

The pressure of being an athlete and student is no match for Noel Estrada. Being  successful means more to him than just wrestling; he also does well in school and has a very bright future ahead.

Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

On Wednesday, December  8^th, the wrestlers took hold of their first win of the year at Evergreen High School, with a total score of 42-24. This match gave the guys leverage and more confidence for the upcoming matches this season.

Junior Bennett Rodriguez was one of the many wrestlers who had a successful match and won within the second period. “It was a tough match; I tried to go for the points, but ended pinning the guy and winning faster than usual, which is always a relief. I am looking forward to the next match and hope to win again,” Rodriguez said.

Another wrestler who had a triumphant match was Luke Fabian, also a junior. “I had a pretty intense match against my opponent,” said Fabian, who also won his match in the second period with a pin. “I am looking forward to beating more kids and hopefully making it to state. This win was a good start to get on that pathway.”

Assistant Coach Matt Laurita has been helping the guys improve their skills during practice and giving them advice on what they can do better. “I expect us to grow from our experiences. We are a young team still with a lot of potential to win. By the end of this year we should be a well rounded team,” said Laurita.

The guys are setting their record straight with this win and are moving on to their next match against Rangeview, Friday, December 10^th at Rangeview High School.