Bullard’s winter sport season has begun so has many of their incredible sports this includes boys and girl wrestling. The official 2024-2025 season for both teams started last Monday on October 28th. Though many of Bullard’s wrestlers took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the pre-season and summer practices.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams are off to an excellent start with both teams having matches in the upcoming weeks. The first girls wrestling event will be held on November 23rd at Redwood High School and the first JV boys’ event December 5th at Madera South High school. The varsity boys’ first event of the season will be held on December 6th and 7th additionally at Madera south high.
Many of the wrestlers are anticipating the upcoming events and have high expectations for themselves and their fellow wrestlers.
All of this has come at a cost though. Bullard’s budget for each wrestling season is 1,200 dollars to run each wrestling season and cover the expenses of everything from gear to away trips takes about 5,000 dollars. To fill this gap the team holds a fundraiser, Knight on the Green, which will be held this Saturday November 9th at Riverside golf course. It is a fundraiser that makes it possible for the team to get the most out of the season. The upper-class men on our team have gone as far as to go out and ask local businesses for price donations to help run the fundraiser.
With both these events so close the wrestling team has put tremendous efforts into their practices. Furthermore, much of the team has put in overtime or have gone the extra mile to improve. There are two practices available, the boys and the girls, many of our wrestlers have put in the effort to make it to both or to come in before or after practice to put in extra work.
Rick Riofrio Bullard’s wrestling director says, “We’re on an upswing of talented athletes with an addition of a number of girls wrestlers to our program has been a positive addition.” This statement isn’t an exaggeration in the last 5 years we have gone from 1 girl wrestler to 5 last school year to an incredible 13 girl wrestlers this season, one of which, Devon Silva, who is ranked in the top 10 of girl’s wrestlers in California.
Wally Barbosa, the girls wrestling coach, said “I expect big things, I’m excited this is the first year that we have a full team. I feel like we can compete as a team for the first time, for a league title. I believe we got maybe 2-3 possible 4 girls that can make it to the state tournament, and I think we have a couple who can place at the state tournament if not win the whole thing”
Additionally, coach Barbosa has a realistic but optimistic out view on the day-to-day practice commenting “The efforts there, it’s getting there it’s a learning experience everyone’s still learning, half the team is brand knew, and half are veterans so it’s just catching everybody up to be on the same page and getting better every day” though that yes the girls team has gotten nearly 11 new girls many of them are freshman or new to wrestling, this hasn’t hindered them in making the effort to catch up and to succeed.
And amongst all the new incoming wrestlers that’ve joined this season we have many amazing athletes who decided to put themselves in one of the hardest sports there is and have put in the effort to succeed.
Overall Bullard’s wrestling season has been on an incline and the team, and the coaching staff only see it going up from here. And for our d1 wrestling team that is the only way it’s going to go from summer pre-season to now our team has put in nothing but grit and effort to excel ourselves forward. There is absolutely no sign of it changing anytime soon. GO KNIGHTS