The Santa Monica High School Wrestling Team kicked off their 50th year of competition with a third place finish this past weekend at the 8-way American Classic dual meet tournament at Chino Hills High School. Every Santa Monica wrestler placed in the top four with two gold medalists, Sami Syed and Ben Yura, also chosen as the Outstanding Wrestlers for the light and heavyweight divisions. “This was a great start and it really shows the efforts these kids have put in over the summer and throughout this fall,” said head coach Mark Black. The Santa Monica team has indeed gone through a renaissance in recent years, crowning three individual California State Wrestling Champions and sending several athletes to NCAA Division One wrestling programs around the country.
Last year a group of local parents received a grant to start wrestling programs at John Adams and Lincoln Middle Schools in Santa Monica, and they have launched a fundraising drive to keep those programs alive. For more information visit smbwc.com.
