The varsity wrestling team competed at the in-season Downey 32 Way tournament Dec. 1–2. Team captain Cutter East ’24, 150 pounds, brought home first place in his weight group. Alec Avedissian ’25, 138 pounds, placed second, followed by captain and Features Editor Dylan Graff ’24, 157 pounds, who placed fourth in his weight group.
East said he prioritized offensive tactics but maintained strong defense to win his weight class.
“I just tried to stay low, and I tried to make sure I had good defense and that I didn’t make any mistakes,” East said. “I just worked inside, [and] I kept pushing them outside the circle. I was being aggressive. I wasn’t letting them make the first move. I was making the first move.”
East said he hopes his own success can set a positive example for younger wrestlers to achieve similar results in the future.
“I think we [have] some good young prospects,” East said. “I think me winning really shows [the freshmen] how far [they] can go. If [they] try hard, [they] can really go out there and be a really good athlete like me and do really well. The program’s getting better, and we’re getting better athletes. You have to keep wrestling and you have to do your best.”
Noah Shallman ’27, 126 pounds, said the leadership of upperclassmen encourages him to be devoted to the program.
“[Cutter and Graff] are definitely role models because when they [win] in a tournament, it gives you something to look forward to in your high school career,” Shallman said. “They’re also role models in the practice room and [as wrestlers] because they train really hard, and it helps you [stay] motivated to be like them and train that hard.”
East said his win at the Downey tournament was a major accomplishment for his high school wrestling career.
“I usually win JV tournaments and preseason [tournaments],” East said. “Usually, I will place and seed in in-season tournaments. [This win was], for the first time, legitimately getting first place.”
Head Coach Junior Amazan said East’s win at the tournament was a culmination of his training and improvement.
“I think Cutter is a gutsy kid,” Amazan said. “There’s nothing that kid fears. It’s been a long [journey] of just building and adding technique and really training. It’s finally starting to click for him and come together. He went out there and wrestled phenomenally. Once he got to the finals, he felt like he belonged, so he was able to put it together.”
Amazan said the team’s overall improvement is its commitment to slow but impactful training.
“The big thing is that every day we get in the wrestling room, and we want to get one percent better,” Amazan said. “We want to add one thing that’s going to make us a little bit better every time, and I think we’ve been doing that. Because of our focus on the process, we’re seeing the results that we want.”
Avedissian said the team’s wrestlers are more committed to the program this year than in previous years.
“I think this year out of all years, we’ve been doing well with getting a lot of people to commit year-round,” Avedissian said. “We’re just getting better every week, and now that we’re in season, we have a lot of matches with top teams.”
Avedissian said he is optimistic that their new level of dedication will yield even better results on the mat.
“[Recently,] we beat Palisades [Charter High School], which we haven’t done for a very long time,” Avedissian said. “They’re a declining program, which is opposite of our program. We’ve been putting in the work year-round, and our young guys are going to be here for a while. I think we’re in good hands.”
