Crusaders take down rivals at tournaments
Photo provided by Coach Jack Schindler
The Wrestling team gathered for a group photo after 17 Crusaders placed at the Colt Classic, and five emerged as tournament champions.
December 12, 2022
Riordan’s wrestling program has begun the season with early success, having 17 wrestlers place at the Colt Classic and five tournament champions, Evan Marigmen ’24, Marcella Fabre ’23, Andrea Aguilar ’24, Luna Medina ’24, and Mason Williams ’25.
Regarding the tournament, Marigmen said, “Our team put a lot of hard work and dedication into last Saturday’s tournament. We did a great job this weekend and there’s only more to come.”
This past offseason the program went through some changes, with a new head coach and the mat room being converted into a classroom during the school day. Despite these changes, members of the wrestling program are optimistic and looking forward to their season.
Coach Jack Schindler is coming to Riordan following 10 years of coaching at Sacred Heart Cathedral, always having looked at Riordan as the place to be.
“I always had my eye on Riordan, from when I was wrestling at SH to when I was coaching,” he said.
The wrestling team has had some challenges this past offseason, for one, the wrestling room has been converted into a classroom during the school day. This has not fazed the program, as Coach Schindler mentioned, “it’s another challenge we face, however it’s not too big a deal, we’ve learned to overcome it.”
Fabre added, “In the beginning it was hard rolling out the mats every day, but we’ve gotten better at it as the season progresses.”
The wrestling team has another “good challenge” of being one of Riordan’s coed sports programs. Schindler said, “Adding girls to the program has been a challenge, a good challenge for us.”
This year there are six girls in the program.
Fabre, shared some of her goals for the season. “The goals I have for the season are to grow closer as a team and rebuild the program back up. Mainly, the goal of our varsity wrestlers is to inspire the younger wrestlers and finish our season off strong.”
Coach Schindler shares this sentiment, as he said, “I want to help reestablish Riordan wrestling’s culture.”
Members of the wrestling program also would like to see more students involved with wrestling.
Fabre stated, “If you’re interested in wrestling, or want to know more about it, reach out to me or Cash (Bolos). We really want people to get more involved with the team, whether it’s watching the matches, or on the mat.”