Name: Christian Mangini

Grade: 12

Sport: Wrestling

How long have you been playing?

I have been wrestling since freshman year.

How did you start playing?

At first I wasn’t really interested, but my older brother started getting serious in it so overtime I started to appreciate it and I wanted to try it out.

Do you want to play in college and or, do you know what school you’re attending?

I’m attending FGCU [Florida Gulf Coast University] but I’m actually not going there for sports.

Do you play any other sports?

Yeah, I also play soccer and was on the varsity team.

Do you play outside of school?

Usually in the summertime I wrestle outside of school to practice, but otherwise no.  

Do you like playing in school or outside of school better?

I enjoy wrestling in school because of the teammates.

What was the hardest thing to learn about the sport?

Well, I love eating food, so I would say the hardest thing about the sport would be cutting weight.

What is your favorite thing about the sport?

I would say it is probably the team and the coaches, because without them I probably wouldn’t want to do it.

What was your greatest achievement in the sport?

I would say my largest and greatest achievement would be becoming district champion.

What was the greatest moment you had during the season?

I would say it would be becoming district championship that’s year as well because it was such a large accomplishment.

How do you stay in shape?

I go to the gym after school, but otherwise it is just eating the right foods and making sure I keep healthy.

Is it hard for you to balance school and wrestling?

It definitely is or can be, but I try my best to make it work.

Do you ever think about going pro?

As far as going pro it’s a hard choice, but if i had the opportunity then i’d definitely give it a shot.

Do you have any before game superstitions or rituals?

Honestly I just enjoy being left alone listening to my music, basically just preparing for my match.

How does the team look for playoffs?

We have to beat other teams so that we are ranked above them and so for the post season we keep a good record, but we looked pretty good.

How are the season stats so far?

This season we did really well and definitely had a positive record overall.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS (STATISTICAL OR OTHERWISE) FROM THE MONTH:

>District 21 Champion

>Region 6 Qualifier

>Went 3-0 at the Matawan Quad on February 9th

ATHLETE’S IMPACT ON THE TEAM’S OVERALL SUCCESS THIS MONTH:

> Christian’s hard work through the year led him to avenge multiple losses en route to his District Championship.

> Christian’s win in his match against Middletown South helped secure the team points needed for the Patriots to win the match.

> Christian finished the season 23-12; good for 2nd on the team in wins and he led the team in pinfalls.