But senior varsity wrestler Luis Wong finally overcame and defeated this 2006 All-City Champion rival of three years, Eugene "Bam Bam" Bibbs of Galileo, in a meet against Galileo on Jan. 24. Realizing that Bibbs is both faster and stronger than him, Wong used good wrestling technique and strategy to beat his opponent.

"I noticed that in matches, if [Bibbs] got really tired, he would just give up," Wong said. In other words, he “saw the back door,” or his opponent’s weakpoint, according to senior wrestler Kelsey Fung. Wong craftily planned to drag the match out as long as he could.

Talia Coombes Senior captain Andrew Yip corrals a slender charging Mustang.

Conquering Bibbs proved to be no simple task. Wong had to use a combination of methods including the cross face, which involves wrapping an arm around the face of an opponent and then flexing one’s biceps, and the fireman, which involves grabbing the leg and bicep of an opponent in order to roll him over.

At first, Wong and Bibbs both appeared exhausted, but neither one gave up. Again and again, they tumbled and changed positions. Just when Wong seemed to be on the verge of collapse after being pinned underneath Bibbs for so long, he would show a sudden burst of energy and overcome Bibbs once again. This cycle continued until finally, just as Wong predicted, Bibbs gave up.

Grinning from ear to ear, Wong high-fived his cheering teammates, unfazed by his bruised and bleeding lip. Rather, the battle wound accentuated the image of a scarred hero coming out of a long, but victorious war.

“Fifth time is the charm,” senior varsity member Andrew Yip said.

Overall, Wong’s firm determination ensured his victory. “Even though I was really nervous, after I started wrestling, I said to myself that I didn’t want to lose in front of the team,” Wong said.

Even though he beat Bibbs this time, Wong feels that he must continue working hard in order to remain on top. “All of the matches were really close,” Wong said. “All-City is going to be really close.”

Though Wong won his match, the rest of the team did not fare so well against the top-seeded Lions. However, at the meet against Lincoln on Feb. 14, they made a superb comeback, winning with an amazing 69-6.

The girls also did extremely well at the Monte Vista Tournament on Feb. 10. All of the girls who went to the tournament placed in their different weight classes, with the only varsity girl on the team, co-captain Anny Nguyen, placing first.

Placing was nothing new to Nguyen, an experienced and talented wrestler. She overcame a left elbow injury and placed second at the California Interscholastic Federation Regionals on Jan. 19 and 20 in Brentwood, proudly saying that her “weight class was one of the weight classes with the most girls.”

Coach Denise J. Lee said that All-City for Nguyen would be a challenge. Because only a handful of varsity girls compete in All-City, they must also wrestle with varsity boys. “Her weight class is pretty tough,” Lee said. “Although she will wrestle against the returning All-City champion, she has a good chance of placing top three. She is one of the more experienced girls out of the five going to All-City.”

Check out the All-City tournament tomorrow, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. at Lincoln.