ON THE MAT
By MARCUS ESTES
Head coach Vincent Bordi looks over his clipboard as practice in the wrestling room inside Winter Gym begins on Nov. 15, 2022. In the background, two wrestlers practice and showcase a technique while every wrestler waits around the circle for warmups to start.
It’s 3:45 at Manteca High and school has only been out for 15 minutes. The wrestling room slowly fills with students from all different backgrounds.
A large green mat spans the floor with the Manteca High logo in the middle. The phrase “Manteca High Buffaloes” is scrawled across the wall in large white letters – just in case anyone wonders who roams these parts. The room is dank and sweaty, littered with shoes, socks, and wrestlers on the floor.
With the wrestling season revving up, Manteca High wrestling coach Vince Bordi puts his confidence in top wrestlers like Derrick Day and Peter Benoza. The season kicked off on Nov. 22 with a four-way jamboree with Gregori High, Linden High, and Escalon High, hosted by the Buffaloes.
On Nov. 26, Bordi will send his top girls wrestlers to an all-girl event at Tokay High School in Lodi. In December, Manteca will host a junior varsity wrestling tournament.
With perennial section and state power Oakdale setting the bar, Bordi’s expectations as a team competing in the Valley Oak League are measured. He believes the Buffaloes have enough talent to challenge for the VOL’s second seed. His hope is for individuals to qualify for Sac-Joaquin Section Divisionals, while sending a large group, including Day and Benoza, to the section tournament.
Wrestlers get into their stance as Manteca coach Vince Bordi gives instruction during a practice on Nov. 15, 2022, in the wrestling room at Winter Gym.
The team starts its season grind every day at 3:45 p.m. On Wednesdays, varsity practice beings at 7:30 a.m. and on Mondays at 6:45 a.m. Typically, practice starts in a large circle with team captains, Day and Isabella Lopez, leading the warmups. On this day, training begins with a light jog and stretching followed by a lesson on a double takedown. Bordi also teaches them how to take control of an opponent by swinging them to the side. Practice is also spiced with a game of Dodgeball and single-leg takedowns.
Day draws some of his motivation from the camaraderie forged on the mat with his teammates. The most advanced wrestler on the team, Day told The Tower about his favorite parts of the sport.
“When you’re on the mat with someone, you sort of build each other up and become friends,” Day said. “The best experience I ever had was winning a tough match, where both sides just brawled it out and left it all out there, and then coming out on top.”
