On February 5, 2017, the Sahuaro wrestling team headed down to Flowing Wells to compete in sectionals. After hard work and pushing through pain, five wrestlers will be on their way down to Prescott on Feburary 10th and 11th to compete at State. The five wrestlers include Alex Enriquez, Armando Valenzia, Deshawn Gill, Blake Rose, and Omar Muniz-Vega.

 Senior Alex Enriquez, will be attending State for his first time ever and says it feels “pretty good! [He’s] really excited to go and see what it’s like.” He’s been wrestling for four years and likes it because it helps him stay in shape. When asked what his motivation to keep going was he answered with, “I wanted to prove that I could stick it out and become good at a sport where most people just quit.”

Senior Armando Valenzia, will be attending State for his fourth and final year. He feels “very determined” because of the fact that every year he’s been one round away from placing at State. The quote “successful people do the things that failures refuse to do,” has been stuck in his head since sixth grade and keeps him going. He also stays motivated by Coach Patterson because he’s been an inspiration to him, almost like another father. Mando says he told him some very wise words that made something in his head click and keeps him determined.

Senior Deshawn Gill, will be attending state for his first time ever and feels really good about it, he believes he worked really hard and overall is really proud of himself. He started wrestling his sophomore year and his biggest motivation to keep going was the feeling he got from, “the way last year ended because [he] didn’t make it to state when [he] should have.” He’s hoping for a strong finish.

Junior Blake Rose, will be attending state for his second time and says, “it’s a good feeling,” and that he feels accomplished. He’s been wrestling for seven years and stays motivated by his coaches, teammates, and his family.

Junior Omar Muniz-Vega will be attending state for the first time and feels “very accomplished.” He’s been wrestling for three years and stays motivated with the help of his teammates who keep pushing him to do better no matter what.

We would like to wish our Sahuaro wrestlers the best of luck!