Wakefield High School’s wrestling team is not quite what you would expect for a sport that is seen as very solitary. From the outside, wrestling is perceived as a very individual sport that consists of the opponents going head to head. But, if you were to go behind the scenes you would see the power of the teammates bonding and working together to better each other, further strengthening the team.

The older athletes on Wakefield’s wrestling team have all gotten chances to work with each other on wrestling skills as well as their friendships with each other. One teammate who has bonded with the newer members of the team is senior Harley Ransom. 

“This year, my friend’s siblings joined the team and since I already know them, it is easier to bond with them and teach them how to wrestle,” Ransom said. “[However,] I’ve been able to make relationships with the whole team.”

Jake Buenviaje, a senior team member, thinks the group is very well-bonded and finds the sport to have more teamwork than people usually think. 

“Even though it is an individual sport, it is very team driven and [the team] has been a brotherhood, and now a sisterhood,” Buenviaje said. 

Even though teammates may wrestle solo and rely on their own abilities to win, that all could not be done without the help and support of the other team members. 

Many people think that since the men’s and women’s teams are two separate teams they have different practices and tournaments, but it’s actually quite the opposite. Zachary Russo, a junior teammate, has found that the Wakefield wrestling teams are all a big happy family. 

“We go to tournaments together and basically all events we do together as a team,” Russo said. “It’s not really that there is a women’s and men’s team. It’s just one team.” 

The way the men’s team has bonded has been a great way to bring them closer together with each other, as well as with the women’s team. This powerful bond has made both teams continue to win matches and take home wins. The team, as a whole, is very tightly knit and shows constant support for each other. 

“Most of the fans we have at our matches are our friends and family so they always give a lot of encouragement,” Ransom said. 

The friendship the teammates experience with each other is very strong and getting to know each other has bonded them well. This bond would have never been forged without the rigorous leadership of their mentor and coach, Russell Williams. 

“[The team is] very close,” Williams said. “You can tell that they are friends on and off the mat.”