BLA/OB Wrestling Spotlight: The Class of 2023 has Left its Mark on Boston Wrestling

By: Christopher Miller

February 1, 2023 BLA/OB vs BLS

It was an emotional night inside a packed Boston Latin Academy (BLA) gymnasium as the co-operative Boston Latin Academy (BLA)/O’Bryant School of Math & Science (OB) (or BLA/OB for short), competed against crosstown rival Boston Latin School (BLS) on Senior Night!

“A good number of them [this senior class] are what I call the OGs, they’re the originals, and they’ve made this program what it is,” BLA/OB head coach
José Valenzuela
said. “They [this senior class] started with this program when it was only an idea. It wasn’t a full-fledged Varsity team. It was their hard work that allowed the city of Boston to recognize us as a program.”

Boston Latin Academy and John D. O’Bryant celebrate 19 seniors!

The BLA/OB co-op, which started in 2016-2017 as a club in the basement of OB and in 2017-2018, emerged as a Junior Varsity program. It wasn’t until a COVID-19-condensed season in 2020-2021, one that the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), that BLA/OB earned a Varsity status. At the time, the co-op had just 10 wrestlers, five of whom were members of the Class of 2023.

“I was proud of how they competed,” Valenzuela said. “The team score, to me, isn’t as relevant as how we respond [to adversity] and fight.” BLA/OB fell to BLS

Final Score: BLS-48, BLA/OB-19


“Many of our matches went the distance, and we had kids fighting off their backs. We had many kids taking shots late in the third period,” Valenzuela continued. “Kids were grinding, riding tough on top, and trying to secure turns. That tells me if my team is improving from the previous week.”

“The way they [this senior class] has set a foundation for the culture, the attitude they have about how to support each other, the attitude about picking each other up, they’ve set the tone,” Valenzuela said. “The younger grades see and emulate that, and we can carry that year to year.”

Head Coach Jose Valenzuela


Photo Credit: Karen Melkonian

BLA/OB assistant coach
Nikan Hodjat
echoed Valenzuela’s sentiments and further pointed out that the tremendous individual and team efforts he sees from this tight-knit team motive him to be the best coach he can be, even during the grueling stretches that accompany a full high school wrestling season.

“This [creating the BLA/OB program] has not always been a straightforward path,” Hodjat said. “Being a wrestling program in the city is an ongoing adversity. It’s the students who keep us all balanced. Because they are resilient, because they keep coming back and demonstrating that they can handle the load we give them and more, that’s what keeps us going. The sustenance is the grind in a weird way.”

Photo Credit: Karen Melkonian

The box score also will not tell you that four of BLA/OB’s wins tonight came primarily from wrestlers who are part of

BTSNE’s

Coaches In Training

program

.

The Coaches in Training (CIT) program, is a year-round leadership development program. Offering a competitive wage while managing their own business “The Hungry Wrestler,” our CIT program provides an innovative and holistic approach for our youth to develop their leadership and life skills. We focus on workforce readiness, health and wellness, mentor-coach training, and entrepreneurship.

“Because of BTSNE [and the CIT program], I’ve been able to be a part of a very supportive community that pushes me to grow more as a person,” said senior captain
Dexin Ma
. “Beat the Streets has helped me realize that [through] every defeat is a lesson learned.

“I’m not nervous [for Senior Night]. I’m excited,” said BLA/OB senior and team captain
Michael Tavares
. “This is the last ride here at BLA. With that being said, there’s no nervousness. It’s exciting. There’s also sadness that it’s my last time defending our home territory.”

Photo Credit: Karen Melkonian

Rivals on the mat, but Dante and Michael have worked alongside each other in the Coaches In Training (CIT) program for the last 2 years!

“I hope 10 years from now, people will notice an identity [from the wrestlers] at either of these schools, and we can point to this class [the Class of 2023] as the class who started it,” Valenzuela said.

The Class of 2023 left its mark on the BLA/OB wrestling program. That said, this program has also profoundly influenced the lives of its athletes, especially some of the BLAOP team captains.

Wherever these 19 Boston Latin Academy and O’Bryant seniors go, and whatever they are destined to accomplish, one thing is sure. All 19 have left their mark on a thriving and continuously growing BLA/OB wrestling program.

Click

here

for the Bout-by-bout results

BTSNE would like to thank

Talia Barrales

for supporting our seniors with their parting gifts.