Despite struggling against strong team competition in the Mission League, five Wolverine wrestlers qualified for CIF Championships at Mission League Finals against Alemany Jan. 31.

Jake Adler ’17 won league in the 132-pound weight class. Ryan Ruiz ’16 took second in the 126-pound weight class. James Lennon ’15 captured third in the 138-pound weight class, while Josh Musicant ’17 took second in the 145-pound weight class and Malcolm Neill ’15 took third in the 170-pound weight class.

While the squad finished with an 0-3 record in dual matches during the regular season, the mark is misleading due to the fact that the team never entered more than eight wrestlers in a varsity match. The strength of its individuals holds promise in upcoming CIF competition.

According to Ruiz, the team is trying to get as many wrestlers as possible to compete at Masters.

“I’m really proud of our freshmen,” Lennon said. “Both the boys and the girls are really growing quite quickly wrestling-wise and showing a lot of heart at our tournaments and duels.”

The team has had various setbacks this season, including sicknesses that caused disappointing results at the Asics Challenge Tournament, but the athletes are still hopeful that they will take home CIF medals.

“Going forward I just hope that we continue to do what we always do, which is work hard and wrestle smart,” Lennon said.

The five grapplers will compete at CIF Championships at Lakeside High School Feb. 20 and Feb. 21.