Westbury wrestling is poised for a strong season, with a dozen experienced seniors on the team. Here’s a look at some of the key players to keep an eye on this season.
Raeco Jackson
Senior, 126 weight class
“I’m looking forward to going to counties and then going to states. I’m trying to fly through Nassau and go to states because that’s where I lost last year. I want to beat the person who beat me last year,” Jackson said.
Jackson currently has several colleges looking at him and is hoping to get a wrestling scholarship.
“There’s a lot of new kids. We teach them moves and if anyone needs help, it’s team first and then the individual,” he said.
Kevin Gutierrez
Senior, 138 weight class
“Last year I made it to the conference and placed fourth. I want to make it to counties this year and place there. I want to have more wins than loses this season,” he said.
As for the team dynamics, Gutierrez says the team is a family.
“We have a lot of goals and we train hard. We work hard for what we want. We’re like brothers and we watch each others back,” he said. “We wrestle tough and have come a long way.”
Jonathan Castellanos
Senior, 145 weight class
“I take it match by match. I’m hoping to go to counties but I can’t think ahead too much if I haven’t done anything,” he said.
“I love everything about wrestling—the coaches, the teammates, the work. The coaches help me with everything—schools, wrestling, and they help me stay on the right track.”
Malcolm Funchess
Senior, 285 weight class
“I look forward to counties and placing this year. If I could go far, I would like to,” said Fuenchess. “The team has more experience and has trained more. We’ll do well.”
“This is my favorite sport. It’s different from football or basketball because it’s just you, you have to make yourself better. It’s up to you to put yourself out there,” he says.
Jose Rios
Junior, 113 weight class
“I’m looking forward to becoming an all county champion and wrestling throughout college and becoming successful,” said Rios.
‘To become all county takes hard work, and a lot of time and coming to practice, and continuing to work hard after practice. But I put in all that effort because I want to be an all county champion.”
