Tam High’s varsity wrestling team has made an enormous improvement in terms of skill, collaboration, and in matches won this season. Last year yielded a 2-6 record. This year, however, Tam is currently 3-4 in the MCAL season, with victories over both Drake and Marin Catholic.

This season’s team has a variety of new additions. Eight freshmen, three sophomores, one junior, and one senior have joined the team in hopes of bringing a range of opponents to the mat with them.

With a total of 22 wrestlers, including 13 new members, the team has utilized its room to grow. Oliver Duler is a Tam High wrestling veteran and the current varsity team captain. He has been on the team since his freshman year.

“It’s good, because the team [now] has a foundation. Many more weight classes are filled and we can be more competitive in our matches,” Duler said. Having flexibility in weight classes allows the team to play different players more often.

The team is led by Coach Andre Salinas. Salinas has high hopes for the team, and is pushing for an MCAL pennant. “[Our goals] are to always improve, build for the future, and send more guys to NCS,” Salinas said.

Senior wrestler Ryan O’Boyle believes that the key to the future success of the team is numbers. “When [the new kids] are juniors and seniors, we’re hoping they’ll do well and lead, as a future for the team,” O’Boyle said.

The team hopes that with its new set of fresh minds and able bodies, an MCAL title isn’t out of their reach.

“We have a variety of skill levels on the team this year, but I feel like we could really go somewhere with it,” Duler said. “We have a lot of new kids but they all have potential and we have a lot of returning wrestlers who can really do some damage for the team.”