Refuse to lose.

It is more than the wrestling team’s catchphrase. It is their mantra. It drives them every match at every meet.

The team has a tournament tomorrow at New Waverly High School. Following the boys first place win and the girls third place win in Friendswood last week, the team is looking forward to a successful season.

“I think wrestling is fun, and it is good to wrestle every day with the team,” freshman Yabi Paulino said.

Camaraderie and family drives the team to work hard and give it their all. 

“My family’s support drives me to become a better person and a better wrestler,” sophomore Isabella Rios said.  

Driven to be the best is just one of the motivations the team shares.  Dedication and hard work is always part of the mentality and has been rewarding for every athlete.  

“It’s hard, but it’s worth all the work we put in,” sophomore Cole Cantrell said.

Many of them are no stranger when it comes to wrestling and have set the bar higher than last years.  

“I feel that I’ll be better than my old self in the future,” junior Pablo Sanchez said.

Getting to state is the ultimate goal of the team, but the wrestlers know that the road to state is a tough one. 

“Giving 110% and making it to state is my goal,” junior Ezrah Garia said.

Friday the 13th was nothing but lucky for the wrestling team as they faced tough competition at the New Waverly tournament. The boys and girls teams both took first place at the event.

“It went really well our boys went undefeated 5- 0 and our girls also. We had one tough opponent but we won,”senior Josh King said. “My favorite part of the New Waverly meet was seeing the first place trophy.”

Teams from College Station, New Waverly, Kingwood Park and A&M Consolidated all competed in the event.

“We got to spent a lot of time there,” junior Josh Thomas said. “I remember most is the fun environment we had, we didn’t go to school, and we just kept winning match after match.”

After winning the tournament, the team were recognized in the winter sports pep rally.

“What I remember most is how we all came together,” junior Emily Buhl said. “We are a great team because we kept getting better and better with every meet and match.”