Girls wrestling team in rough water

Wrestler Michaela Leonardi (left) shakes hands with an opponent at the start of a match.

Photo by USA Wrestling

Wrestler Michaela Leonardi (left) shakes hands with an opponent at the start of a match.

Lauryn Sanchez, Staff Writer

Cathedral Catholic High School’s girls wrestling team has struggled this season due to some athlete’s lack of interest, and in addition, as a team, they have not competed in a single competition this season.

“Honestly, the team has been falling apart,” Head Coach Jason Gigliotti said. “None of the girls have shown up to practice in a while and none have competed yet.”

Michaela Leonardi ‘17 pioneered the team last school year as the first CCHS female wrestler. Since then, Vivian Galindo ‘17 and Esmeralda DeLaCruz ‘19 have joined the team, bringing the team to a small total of three wrestlers. Unfortunately, Leonardi has been out with an injury.

“Admittedly, I haven’t gone in a while,” Galindo said. “But of course I still consider myself a part of the team, and it still provides scholarship opportunities.”

With decreased participation and a lack of student interest, there has been no plan for the team to enter any future competitions. Coach Gigliotti “hopes for a better season next year.”

However, the youngest wrestler, DeLaCruz, still believes the team will continue on with their season.

“While we haven’t been going to practice recently, we still can work just as hard as the guys do,” DeLaCruz said. “My uncle was a wrestler – it’s in my blood and I still want to wrestle.”

As the year progresses, the girls team will try for a surge of progress in the near future. Meanwhile, the boys wrestling team continually attends its practices and competes in multiple matches every month.