The wrestling boys and girls officially started their season with a junior varsity tournament Nov. 22 and a varsity tournament Nov. 23.

The Lady Maverick wrestlers performed well at the varsity tournament, winning two matches against Reagan High School and another match against Round Rock.

In one of their matches against Reagan, the Lady Mavs won by a single point they earned within the final round.

The varsity boys lost at least three matches on Saturday – two of those matches to Lander and another to Rouse.

However, the varsity boys have worked hard to prepare for their matches.

“We have to do a lot of running and lifting weights, senior Matthew Ascensio said. “We also do drilling, which is repetition of moves – that way it’ll become muscle memory.”

Aside from building strength, the members of the varsity team drill certain moves into their heads by doing them over and over again. This turns the act of performing that move into a reflex when needed in a real match outside of training.

The varsity wrestlers all have experience in high school wrestling.

“I’ve been in wrestling for about a year. I was in it last year at Weslaco East,” Ascensio said.

Meanwhile, the JV wrestlers, who are mostly new to high school wrestling, are training to make some victories at their own tournaments.

“We do a lot of running and a lot of push-ups,” freshman Spencer Odendahl said.

The team runs track to build leg muscle as well as to improve stamina and they do push-ups to obtain arm strength.

“We do conditioning and we practice shots on each other,” freshman Holly Hammet said.

According to “Human Kinetics,” conditioning is a supplement (but not a replacement) for wrestling. It is meant to raise a wrestler’s endurance and energy so that it is easier for him or her to make it through three rounds in a match. To “practice shots” means having fake matches in which teammates use each other to train for real matches.

“The practices are really fun – especially with coach (Huey) Huynh and coach (Dan) Ventura,” Odendahl said.

The coaches are supportive of their wrestlers, cheering them on from the sidelines.

“My teammates and the coaches are really nice and helpful,” Hammet said.

The JV wrestlers had a warm welcoming into wrestling.

“It’s a lot of fun and the whole team is really happy to help and practice with you,” freshman Jason Chu said.

Team goals include making it past district, while individuals also have personal goals.

“My goal is to not get pinned in the first round. I motivate myself at the start of a round by focusing on that,” Hammet said.

The Maverick wrestlers have different things to motivate them to do well.

“I joined wrestling because my dad was a state champ wrestler in Louisiana. It was his junior or senior year [of high school]. I want to live up to his standards,” Odendahl said.