For as long as people can remember, the wrestling team here at Antioch has been dominated the competition. In order to keep the reign going, the team is making the trip over to Grayslake Central this Thursday, January 17, to take on the Rams, who have also had a promising season up to this point.

Senior Xavier Sanchez has made an amazing comeback this year after coming off an injury and has been a huge contributing factor to the great start the wrestlers have had this season. He expects a lot from himself as he is a senior on the team.

“I feel like I should do good,” Sanchez said. “I just need to wrestle smart and not make dumb mistakes.”

Junior Alexander Barbarise also has a leading role on the team since he is expected to be one of the wrestlers to take the team down to state. Wrestling is Barbarise’s passion and he doesn’t back down when it comes to challenges like the one they’ll have to face this Thursday.

“Every time I go out on the mat I expect to dominate and control the match,” Barbarise said. “I want to leave a statement and let everyone know who I am and who Antioch is.”

As perfect as teams can look, there will always be room to improve, as every team has a weakness somewhere. Barbarise recognizes his leadership role on the team and takes pride in finding weaknesses. He then exposes them so that he can overcome the issues he is facing and continue on his rampage through all his competitions.

“I have to be more confident in myself,” Barbarise said. “Throughout this season I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I have to overlook the losses and think about all I do to prepare for these matches.”

Barbarise, Sanchez and the rest of the team plan on cruising through this match with another team win, gaining the respect of their opponents. They also hope that anyone that knows the wrestling team at Antioch will realize that they are an unstoppable unit with their eyes on state.