There is a big buzz surrounding the wrestling season after an amazing show last year where several athletes made it to state and one took home a state championship. Coach Matthew Burton started coaching his senior year in high school at Englewood for the youth program in 2008, “My head coach stepped down and asked me to take over. Now it’s been 17 years with the youth and I am going on my 4th with this high school. I started wrestling when I was in the Englewood youth wrestling program,” he said. His dedication and passion for the sport have been a guiding light for many young wrestlers.
Maile Manfre, a fifth-year wrestler, became interested in the sport in sixth grade, inspired by her brother. She enjoys the challenge of competing in a traditionally male-dominated sport and relishes the opportunity to stand out, especially when they win, “Being able to stand out when you beat them,” Manfre said with a confident smile. Reflecting on previous years, “The last couple of years have been kind of challenging because there’s been some schools that won’t wrestle. It’s getting a little bit better every year,” Manfre said. She also expressed her hopes and goals, “I’m feeling really good. The girls are getting a lot more recognition, and even at the state tournament, we’re being separated, just like the boys. My goal is to win the state championship. Work hard every day at practice and to show up and show out,” she said.
Senior Eli Cortez has wrestled all four years in high school and is driven by the hope of making it to state, “Hopefully I can go to the state. Last year, I was ranked top 10 in the state, and I was one off from making it into state last year. So hopefully I can make it to state this year,” he said. Cortez understands the mental toughness required for wrestling, “Mentally it’s hard, but I enjoy it a lot, and it’s fun to just practice with your boys and keep getting better. I need to keep my body healthy and keep my conditioning good.”
He has a few successful moves on the mat, ”One of his favorite moves is the low single-leg shot. Basically, I aim for the ankle and use my head to bend the knee over my ankle. I’ve gotten twenty takedowns off that move. A lot of big dudes don’t do that move, so I try it a lot. Cortez draws inspiration from his older brother, who also wrestled and is now the coach. “My older brother and he’s the coach here, and he kind of got me into it.”
