San Francisco State University’s Division II wrestling team is training hard to achieve its goals. From weekly practices to hours spent working out and maintaining a balanced diet, the team plans to compete in 20 tournaments this school year.
From Nov. 4, 2023, to March 15, 2024, the SFSU wrestling team will compete against other schools in various tournaments across the country. Jason Welch, the SFSU wrestling team’s head coach, has his sights set on competing at Nationals and seeing his students achieve All-American honors.
“I think the focus of our season is on qualifying for U.S. Nationals and getting someone to be top eight in the country for us. All-Americans starts at top eight in the country, so I think we have some guys in the team right now who can [be] All-American this year and vie for national championships,” Welch said.
The team spends many hours a week working to the point that their clothes are drenched in sweat. Running laps, weightlifting and wrestling a teammate are just a part of what they do during practice.
“We usually have two practices a day,” said Gavin Funk, a computer engineering major and wrestler. “If we’re not practicing in here, then I’m probably practicing outside by myself.”
According to Funk, he spends around 30 hours training weekly. All of this is to meet weekly weigh-ins. The wrestling team members are required to maintain a specific weight and they are measured every week.
Although there are many hours and workouts throughout the season, the wrestlers seem to truly enjoy what they are doing. Many of them referred to the team as a second family.
“I’m actually really excited for this upcoming season,” said Brayden Concepcion, a business administration major and member of the team. “We have a pretty solid lineup with incoming freshmen coming in, pushing us the same way we’re pushing them.”
Welch hopes to see more than one of his students receive All-American honors this season. He also looks forward to what he calls healthy rivalries to push and motivate his team this year.
“Menlo. Just across the Bay in Palo Alto, so we’ve always battled well against them,” Welch said. “It’s cool to see them turn to a Division II program and I think that’d be [a] really healthy rivalry going forward.”
The team will compete in home and away tournaments this season. This semester there will be nine tournaments, and the team will kick off their season on Saturday, Nov. 4 against Menlo College at the Haynes-Prim Pavilion at 9 a.m.
