Strong finish, stronger future for Samo wrestling

The Samo wrestling season has come to an end and with that brings new goals and growth. The team finished with an overall record of 2-4-0. With the end of the season, the team is already focusing on intense training for next year.

Individually, two athletes have made it past both league and CIF. Qualifying for Masters is one of the toughest accomplishments, making it so that only the top wrestlers advance. 

Aaron Heirigs (’26) and team captain Arata Sakamoto (’26) progressed to the Masters tournament, solidifying their place among the top competitors in the section. The girls’ tournament was on Feb. 19 and the boys’ was on Feb. 20. Heirigs describes the teams and his own mentality, 

“This was my first legit year wrestling and I came in with a tough mindset, and would push myself every day at practice [...] the community was really strong this year, full of freshmen and wrestlers who wanted to prove themselves,” Heirigs said. 

While both wrestlers had great competitions both of their two wins and two losses resulted in their season ending at Masters. Sakamoto, a three timer at masters 

“My favorite part of the post season was putting myself out there and having fun, while still focusing on my next match,” Sakamoto said. 

Looking ahead, next season priorities are shown. Offseason plans will concentrate on strength, conditioning and closing technical holes. Head coach Jason Mun expresses his satisfaction with the team. 

“We doubled our master wins, we had more CIF placers, and we placed higher at all of our tournaments,” Mun said.

What made this season meaningful wasn’t just wins or losses, but how the wrestlers adapted and grew despite playing challenging schools.

Isabella Hillier / ContributorScott Limon (’28) pins a Redondo High School opponent during a home match.