ACP Wrestling Qualifies for the AIA State Tournament

When it comes to succeeding in sports, ACP truly knows how to “strive for the impossible and be extraordinary.” For years, ACP students have been breaking boundaries and jumping over obstacles in their performance in their respective sports, instilling their hard work and dedication into each competition they attend. From soccer to volleyball, ACP students have continuously amazed us with their skill and determination, making our headlines each time.

This time, it is ACP Wrestling that has snatched the newspaper spotlight. Our high school wrestlers competed in last weekend’s sectional tournament and finished with an astounding third place finish as a whole team. Furthermore, many of our wrestling members also individually qualified for the AIA State Wrestling Tournament on Friday in Prescott.

During this Sectionals tournament, Jad Masboudi and Kellen Gibson were the Tournament Champions, while Jonathan McDonald, Colyn O’Brien, Logan Sandlin, Joseph Maddox, and Nate Huffman placed third. In addition, Carter Patten, Owen Sullins, Curtis Wilkerson, and Sebastian Rochin all finished in fourth place.

To learn more about their experiences in the tournament, I interviewed the seniors Colyn O’Brien and Jonathan McDonald.

My first interview was with Colyn, who provided me with thoughtful responses to my inquiries on his thoughts about the tournament:

Q: What was your experience like at the Sectionals Tournament?

A: The Sectional Tournament was pretty great. It was a tough tournament, but our team gave it our best. Our team had more qualifiers than we have ever had before with eleven out of fourteen people qualifying for State.

Q: What do you expect to happen next for wrestling?

A: The team will continue to work hard in the off-season so that the team can get even more people to State.

Next, I briefly spoke with Jonathan McDonald, the third place finisher at Sectionals:

Q: What was your favorite moment at this tournament?

A: My favorite moment was definitely when I was almost pinned down, but then escaped and managed to pin my opponent by myself just as the clock reached zero.

Congratulations to our ACP Wrestling on their qualification for the AIA State Tournament! With any AIA activities (whether it is wrestling or debate), being able to progress to State level is incredibly hard and requires a great amount of effort from every teammate.

The team has worked tirelessly to arrive to this point, and we could never be more proud of them than we are in this moment. Everyone, make sure to attend the AIA State Wrestling Tournament tonight to support our wrestling team!