This year, the Saint Paul’s Wrestling Wolves face the Mandeville Skippers in the season’s first meet. Last year, the Wolves won the state wrestling championship, but can they do it again? Can they win the state title two years in a row, or will they fall to another school like Jesuit or Brother Martin? It is still yet to come, but many people hope to see a two-time championship team out of Coach Pinero and the rest of the Saint Paul’s wrestling team. When asked if he thought his team would be as dominant as they were last year, Coach Pinero said, “Our goal this year, as always, is to be the very best that we can be. If we do that, we have the potential to have another solid season.”

Even after a state championship victory, there is still room for improvement for the Wolves. Coach Pinero when asked if he had seen anyone over the offseason improving and if he thinks anyone could go to the next level, responded with, “I’ve seen big improvements from all of our wrestlers this off-season, but Ethan Viator stands out as a guy who will surprise some teams this year. I expect him to be competing for a championship.”

Pinero and his wrestling team hope to defend their state championship in 6 months, but before that, they have to face many other groups in wrestling meets from November 3rd to January 26th. The first meet of the year falls on November 3rd between the Saint Paul’s Wolves and the Mandeville Skippers. The Louisiana Classic will be from January 14th to January 15th, on a Friday to Saturday. The Louisiana Classic is one of the most prestigious tournaments in Louisiana for wrestling. The Lasallian Tri-Meet will be at St Paul’s on January 26th. A tri-meet is a wrestling event between three teams instead of the normal dual meet.

The Wolves will be competing for the State Championship from February 11 – 12, and the Wolves are anxiously awaiting their chance to defend their title. The team has been through a state championship-winning year together already and is happy to welcome the new wrestlers into the winning culture. When Coach Pinero was asked how his team’s camaraderie would be for this year’s season, he answered with, “I think the camaraderie has been good this off-season with many older athletes mentoring our younger athletes, but I expect it to grow much stronger as we begin our preseason training and zero in on our 2022 State Championship quest.”