By Ethan Ndachi (@EthanNdachi)- The Spear | SJSU Wrestling team after Battle at Sparta tournament Nov. 16 2024 (Photo courtesy of SJSU Wrestling)
SJSU’s club wrestling team has undergone leaps and bounds in its last couple of years and plans big for the future.
“When I first started, it was just a club team,” head coach Alexis Santana-Quintana said. “Our kids just kind of came to practice.”
Santana-Quintana joined SJSU’s wrestling club team in 2020 and wanted to bring more competitiveness to the squad.
He got into contact with the National College Wrestling Association (NCWA) and began to enroll the team in competitions against other schools in the Western Conference such as Fresno State, Riverside, and Sacramento.
Head coach Alexis Santana-Quintana (left) with past president and volunteer coach Fransisco Borjon (right) Nov 16. 2024 (Photo courtesy of SJSU Wrestling)
“It’s still a club team, so in terms of dedication, it’s a mixed bag sometimes,” Santana-Quintana said.
Coach Santana-Quintana noted that it was hard to gather a hefty competing team without motivated athletes.
SJSU doesn’t attract many wrestlers out of high school due to not having a proper division placed wrestling team.
Wanting to build on the competitiveness of the team, the club also attended strength and conditioning practices for the first time.
Tuesdays and Thursdays would be their days starting in the fall 2024 semester, adding onto the basic practice on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Club president and sophomore wrestler Nathan Engelbertson along with vice president senior Raul Garcia and treasurer senior Mia Moreno aim to improve the wrestling experience every season.
Club president Nathan Engelbertson vs UC Riverside Nov. 13 2024 (Photo courtesy of SJSU Wrestling)
“We’re the ones trying to make stuff happen,” Engelbertson said, “Our job is to plan out the season, make sure our guys can get out to competitions.”
In the 2024-2025 season alone the club was able to attend ten tournaments.
This included hosting their first home tournament, in what was one of the busiest schedules for SJSU wrestling since its formation.
“I think that’s a pretty monumental thing,” club treasurer Mia Moreno explained. “To go from a team that did nothing, to hosting your own competition is a huge deal.”
The club also plans to gather wrestlers to compete in off-season freestyle wrestling tournaments, more competitions for the team to use for experience.
SJSU club wrestling travels out of state for certain competitions as well.
“Two years ago we had qualifiers to go to Puerto Rico, where they held nationals,” Santana-Quintana said. “We had four national qualifiers and I think that helped us show to the school that we have people who are competing at a pretty high level.”
SJSU club wrestling has been to Utah twice, as well as Arizona for tournaments
Volunteer coach Dylan Han demonstrating a move on coach Fransisco Borjon to Pasha Salemi, while TJ Caballero watches Nov 15. 2024 (Photo courtesy of SJSU Wrestling)
The team has a modest fund to dip into in order to take on these trips. The club being a tier two out of possible three in club sports.
What this status means is that the club team meets requirements such as having 10-19 active members, having 5-9 competitions in a year and having a paid coach.
If the Spartans can make $15,000 by themselves this season, they will qualify for tier one.
Being tier one would allow SJSU Wrestling to have the highest amount of resources and funding for the club.
SJSU wrestling takes advantage of opportunities to raise funds as well, including having wrestlers work at Levi’s Stadium and fundraising at local restaurants.
However, the club dues remain the primary source of funds for the team.
“By recruiting new guys, I’d say that’s the main way that we get more funding,” club president Nathan Engelbertson said.
Engelbertson believes that their member retention overall has improved over time, although he felt that more experienced wrestlers tend to feel burnt out and less likely to compete.
It is safe to say that expanding the competing team roster is a big goal for SJSU wrestling.
Pasha Salemi wrestles against Skyline Community College Nov. 15 2024 (Photo courtesy of SJSU Wrestling)
“San Jose [State] has 30,000 students,” SJSU wrestler of two years Pasha Salemi said. “There’s gotta be some really good talent out here.”
The men’s competing squad currently has 16 wrestlers and the women have eight.
Treasurer Mia Moreno listed increasing the women’s wrestling roster as one of her hopes for future growth relating to the club team.
“I think that would be really great,” Moreno said. “There’s hardly any women’s wrestling at all in California.”
Moreno started her SJSU wrestling career as the sole woman on the team and feels that having a substantial women’s roster will draw attention to SJSU’s wrestling program and bring in more potential wrestlers.
“I love how far our team has come, from in the basement to over here [SJSU Event Center],” Moreno said.
The future seems to be bright for SJSU’s club wrestling team.
