Aztecs wrestling program has made strides this year

BARSTOW • The Barstow wrestling team held its final home meet of the season on Wednesday. The Aztecs were competitive, but lost to a strong Serrano squad, 53-27.

Three Aztecs pinned their opponents. At 106 pounds, Dominick Robles pinned Keaton Espinola; at 120 pounds, Austin Espinoza pinned Jesse Hernandez; and at 220 pounds, Kiler Holmeyer pinned Xerik Dehler. Also winning for the home team was Gabriel Rodriguez, who was victorious at 138 pounds by regular decision over Pete Verrella, picking up three points.

Aztecs head coach Adam Hopkins had a challenge this season, heading up a roster full of young wrestlers. He found himself giving instruction more often than he’s used to, but was happy with the progress his squad made.

“We’re relatively young, and the expectation of trying to perform at a high level while learning the sport is out of the question,” he said after Wednesday’s meet. “Our focal point has been finding positions and technique. As the year has gone, we’ve been pinned less often and haven’t given up as many bonus points. The things we’ve done maybe don’t show up on the stat sheet, but they’ve been moral victories.”

Hopkins’ seniors agreed with that assessment. There were four seniors on hand for the final home meet of their high school wrestling careers on Wednesday. All are big fans of the sport, have enjoyed their time with the squad, and had nice things to say about their coach.

“The team worked hard and got stronger every day,” said Jeremy Santos. “I’d like to thank coach Hopkins for the experience. He kept pushing us to get better, every year, every practice, every second.”

“It’s been a lot of fun, I’ll miss it,” said Sam Anderson. “I’m happy to have wrestled for coach Hopkins. He’s been a mentor to all of us and we learned a lot from him, in and out of wrestling.”

“I’m glad to have participated for the last four years. Coach Hopkins not only taught us wrestling, but taught us how to grow up and be a man,” Drue Bosco said. “They say that once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy. I’m ready to take what I learned out into the real world.”

“I’m proud to have seen the younger kids learn and step up this year, and happy with how the team progressed,” said Austin Espinoza. “Coach Hopkins has been our brother, our friend, our dad, he’s always been there for us. I’ll be excited to come back and watch the team next year.”

At that point, all those young wrestlers who got their first taste of varsity competition this season will be back and more experienced. Hopkins has high hopes for the progression of the program.

“We have a great staff here, great support, and kids who care about the sport,” said the coach. “Next year, most of the squad will be returning. We also have a youth program which should be contributing over the next few years, I’m waiting to start funneling those kids up. That’s how you build a program, and we should just keep getting better.”

Also honored Wednesday were seniors Krysten Barela and Allison Varty, who were stat keepers for the team.

There’s one dual meet left before the postseason, at Silverado next Wednesday.