Mikal McCoy wrestles his opponent to the ground (Photo: Alvaro Flores-Villegas, Patterson Press)

By Mikal McCoy,

Patterson’s wrestling team last school year (2015-2016) was successful. There were wrestlers who placed in Baltimore City Championship, including Amari Latimer, who was Maryland’s State champion in 2016. This school year, the team has had a more difficult start.

Wrestling is a winter sport; the season starts in the month of October. At Patterson High school,  at the beginning of  wrestling season, the team was having trouble with recruiting under the pressure of the wrestling program being shut down by Baltimore City officials.

Four wrestlers, including Ryan Carter, Kemar McBean, and Mikal McCoy, returned back to the team to continue their wrestling experience. The team needed a total of 12 players in order to be eligible to be a team in Baltimore City. “We didn’t have any wrestlers”, said Ryan Carter, captain of the wrestling team.  Due to the lack of participation, the team was in danger of being shut down and not funded by Baltimore City. Fortunately, after the winter break, a total of 8 new members were recruited on the team.

After the close call of reviving Patterson’s wrestling team, practice began immediately, every day,  Monday-Friday. “Going to practice has helped me become better because I have learned more defense and offence; I feel more prepared”, said wrestler Brandan Chamber. Coach Norman, who is the head coach of the team, creates workouts that are focused around cardio to improve wrestlers’ endurance.

On December 14, 2016, Patterson’s wrestling team had a home game against Fredrick Douglass High School. The match ended in a draw (30-30). During the match new wrestlers got the opportunity to practice their moves. On January 12, 2017, the wrestling team had another home game against Mervo High School. Since October, Patterson’s wrestling team hasn’t had many matches. “Incomplete matches don’t help us know where we are as wrestlers”, Ryan Carter explained.

Now that Patterson has a full team, the rest of the season should be much more successful.

Patterson High School wrestling team (Photo: Patterson Press)