The wrestling season ended with tears of joy as North brought back a State placer and, for the first time in school history, a State Champ.

Three wrestlers, junior Angel Flores and seniors Alexander Moran and Joseph Arroyo, advanced to State from Sectionals. The State competition took place at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, over three days.

“Wrestling has given me something to look forward to every day and has given me hope as to what I wanna do as far as college goes. As for qualifying, I don’t think anything will beat the faces in the stands as my hand got raised. I’ve never felt a rush of joy in my body like that before,” Flores said.

The wrestlers had trained hard all season, working tirelessly every day after school to make sure they were in top shape, physically and mentally, in preparation for State.

“It’s a fair statement to say that wrestling has made me the person I am today. I owe my athleticism, work ethic and overall success in life to the time I’ve spent in wrestling. I would be a completely different person today if I had never joined wrestling,” Moran said.

State began on Thursday, February 16th and concluded on Saturday, February 18th. Alex Moran was named the 5th place winner during the morning session of wrestling.

“The feeling was amazing. Looking at the clock wind down to zero and knowing that I would be able to say that I placed 5th in State was a rush of emotions. Knowing that the eight years of wrestling, in season and off season, that I put finally paid off was gratifying. It was the proudest moment of my life and will likely remain that way until I have children of my own,” Moran said.

The final session of wrestling kicked off at 6:30pm with the Grand March, a parade of the wrestlers and coaches vying for the 1st place in their individual weight classes. At the end of the 113 pound matches, Joseph Arroyo’s hand was raised as the 2A champ. After his match, he lept into his coach’s arms while pointing to his family in the stands.

“It feels crazy. The feeling is unexplainable, because it’s literally been a dream of mine forever and really the greatest thing that’s happened to me,” Arroyo said.

As for next year, these wrestlers have a lot to look forwards to.

“I’m going to be attending Milwaukee School of Engineering in order to pursue a degree in industrial engineering. At this point, I don’t know if I’ll be continuing wrestling in college. After the success that I’ve had this season, I might want to do another four years of wrestling,” Moran said.

“Next year I plan to wrestle in college. I’m not sure where yet, but I’m hoping to stay close to home,” Arroyo said.

“Next year I plan on training harder and I hope to be going for a state title to bring home to make my dad proud,” Flores said.