Alex Diaz has tried not to allow the memories of his sophomore season at Council Rock North “weigh” too heavily on his mind.
In each of his 11 matches last season, Diaz gave away approximately 20 pounds at the 106-pound bracket, usually weighing in the upper 80s. Since he began wrestling at the age of 5, Diaz has battled a weight problem.
Diaz recently went 3-2 to begin the season at the Brian Bealer Bear Memorial Duals at Boyertown High School, which involved 10 teams. Council Rock North finished 1-4 as a team, while Pennridge went 4-1 at the event.
Pennridge 121-pound junior Cole Coffin went 5-0 at the duals and is undefeated (10-) on the season. Juniors 172-pounder Talan Hogan and 145-pounder Sam Kuhns both went 4-1 in Boyertown,
Diaz, now nearly 15-20 pounds heavier in the 106-pound range, still has his memories as motivation.
“Keeping weight on has been an issue,” said Diaz. “I always have been undersized. Last year, I was always around 87, 88 pounds. In most matches, it was a real battle. I just had to keep fighting. Sometimes, their size and strength would take over, but I worked on my speed to avoid someone using their weight advantage over me.
“When I was younger, I would wrestle around 60 pounds. I stopped wrestling for a while because of my size. I started playing soccer, but came back to wrestling in sixth grade and have been with it since then.”
Yet, Diaz continued to persevere.
“I worked hard in the offseason to get stronger and in every phase of my game,” he stressed. “A lot of it has to do with technique. I knew I got better and stronger. This season, I always have more confidence with the added weight.”
Head coach Mike Diglia believes Diaz is destined for a banner year on and off the mat.
“He is the heart and soul of the team,” said Diglia. “He’s an effort guy who is always leading the other guys.
“He put on some weight, but he is still a little undersized. Alex is one of the best technicians around. He already is college-ready and has better than a 4.0 grade point average. He’ll be one of our break-through guys.”
Sophomore 127-pounder Eren Sement recorded a 41-6 season last year and finished third at states. He went 5-0 at the Boyertown duals, registering three falls.
Freshmen Marco Loss (114) and Pierce Kane (121) won all five of their bouts in Boyertown, and Diglia expects each of them to have strong seasons as major parts of a relatively young squad.
Digila also is excited about the addition of assistant coach Josh Kindig, who is a former two-time state champion from Blue Mountain High School. Kindig also is a director of the Attack Mat Club in Ivyland.
“He has been working with a number of guys, and is ready to take them to the next skill level,” beamed Diglia. “He has managed to bring out the best in everyone. Despite some of our losses, we believe we are ahead of schedule at the moment due to the part he has played in the development of our guys.”
Diglia believes his team will peak at the right time. They surely will be tested in the next two weeks with matches against Faith Christian and Central Bucks East as well as the prestigious X-Caliber tournament at Wilkes University and the annual Powerade Classic and Canon-McMillian High School.
“We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” added Diglia. “But we are very optimistic about their chances.
“These tournaments will show us what we need to do to get ready for the postseason. We want our guys to learn how to deal with losses. We will be a better team because of it.”
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