With bodies slamming into mats and the echoing cheers of the crowd, wrestling may be one of NA’s more under-appreciated sports. Throughout its prestigious history, the team has claimed both WPIAL and state titles. And though the team portion of this year’s season has come to a close, the squad is looking forward to the Section 1-AAA individual tournament on Saturday.

“This past season has been good,” Omer Tuncer said. “We won most of our matches.” 

The Tigers ended the season winning seven of their eleven team matches.

“We were undefeated in our season until we recently lost in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL playoffs,” said Freddy Junko, a Virginia Military Institute commit. “But we still have individuals, and we won all of our tournaments this year.”

For junior Massima Curry, currently the only female on the team, hopes are high for the individual playoffs.

“I’m looking forward to watching everyone and I think we have a good chance of a lot of the team making it to states,” Curry said.

The team’s attitude, as well as their practices, are a large part of their noteworthy success. 

“Our team is working hard every day to get better and better,” Tuncer said. “The reason we are successful is that we always train hard and do our best during matches and tournaments. I finally convinced my mom to let me wrestle this year, and I’ve been working my butt off ever since, trying to get better and better.”

Junko agreed with Tuncer’s assessment.

“Wrestling is a very hard sport, but when you get the hang of it, it’s all worth it,” he said.

Many of the wrestlers had roots in the sport or grew up around it. Almost all of them had prior exposure to the mat through friends or relatives. 

“I wanted to be a wrestler because it’s basically in my blood,” Massima said. “My whole family has wrestled and my brother has gotten the opportunity to wrestle in college. I’ve grown up watching wrestling.”

Junko’s story is similar.

“I became a wrestler because of family influence,” he said.

Above all, however, the team owes its success to the support they provide one another.

“The best part about the team is that everyone is supportive when you wrestle,” Tuncer said. “They always have your back in any situation.”