Varsity wrestlers qualify for regional championship after winning season

Varsity wrestling finished the regular season with a record of 12 wins in 18 matches, with 12 members qualifying for regional championships.
The regional championship tournament took place for two days at Fairfax High School. The tournament consisted of the Northern region and the Occoquan region. The championship was a double elimination tournament, meaning if a wrestler were to lose once in one round they still have another chance to continue competing and to qualify for states.
To qualify for regionals, wrestlers must finish in the top four in the district of their respective weight class. To train for a top placement in the tournament, the wrestlers practice every day after school.
“I think wrestling [is one of the] most physically demanding sports in existence, and in order to just compete and to just stay on the team, it takes an unbelievably high work ethic,” wrestling head coach Jason Planakis said. “For three hours each day for practice we’re lifting weights and we’re wrestling live and we’re drilling our moves, and it’s a constant resistance against each other.”
During practices, senior and varsity wrestler Mark Barakat said he tries to improve certain aspects of his performance.
“I go into practice every day with one or two specific things in mind that I know I want to get better at by the end of practice,” Barakat said.
Sophomore and varsity wrestler
Harris Qureshi said attending regionals for the first time was stressful, but he was able to overcome the anxiety in his matches.
“Obviously there are always nerves,” Qureshi said. “Once you are on the mats, all of those feelings go away and you just wrestle.”
Barakat said he was most excited for the friendly competition with his team’s regional rivals.
“Regionals is something you look forward to since the summer,” Barakat said. “I was practicing over the summer thinking about the people I would be wrestling.”
At the tournament, four seniors of the 12 total wrestlers who attended the regional championships qualified for the wrestling state championships.