Freshman Luc Arreola ’29 and Jacob Patrick ’29, two lightweight wrestlers who are leading the Brophy wrestling team with athleticism and sharp technique, are progressing in their wrestling careers, although undersized and faced with adversity.
However, both wrestlers have experienced some hardships and struggles on their journey to this point of their wrestling careers.
Jake Patrick ‘29 said, “I just know that it’s all God’s plan and he has a plan for me, and it’s an opportunity to learn. I use it to get better for the next one.”
Unfair matchups also play a part in the wrestling scene, with smaller guys wrestling taller and skinnier people; this can either be a positive or a negative for the lightweight wrestler.
“I’m going against guys who are taller and skinnier, so I use quickness to [get to] their legs and strength to get them down,” Patrick said.
“I think it matters more at light weights because you’re not as strong as a heavyweight or someone heavier than you in general. So you have to rely on your technique and your agility to outmaneuver your opponent,” Arreola adds.
Mentally taking a loss can be difficult, but with losing comes learning.
“If you’re smaller than your opponents, you should work on keeping your head up and staying positive,” Patrick said.
For Arreloa, teammates and God are the biggest factors in overcoming a major loss. Having someone to relate to is a must, and it’s this connection that builds a strong, winning team.
“I haven’t been wrestling for a while, but the best advice I can probably give is to go as hard as you can every practice, every match, and every opportunity, and when you don’t want to wrestle as hard as you can, wrestle for something much bigger than yourself, so it pushes you to wrestle harder. Do it all in the glory of God!” Arreola said.
For Brophy wrestling, there are 12 matches in the season, and each wrestler can compete multiple times. Spanning just over 2 months, this isn’t really much time for wrestlers to compete and play. Every match counts and is crucial to a career. These two standouts are looking to make the most of every match.
