Torres' tenacity produces solid results on the mat
Senior made the transition from football to wrestling
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers POWER MOVE- Alec Mott, 16, of Moorpark High is taken down by MHS senior Esteban Torres during a recent practice session. After posting a 25-1 record a season ago, Torres is 22-2 this year. He's the reigning 171-pound Marmonte League champion.

Two years ago senior Esteban Torres gave up playing football at Moorpark High and decided to dedicate all his time to wrestling. Since then, opponents have been wishing Torres would change his mind.

Torres decided to give up football because he believed he was too small for the sport. On the mat, however, Torres has loomed large for the Musketeers. Last season he produced a 25-1 record. Torres has a 22-2 record for MHS in 2007.

Torres first got into wrestling when he was in the eighth grade. He was neighbors with Moorpark wrestling standout Eric Gonzalez, and soon after Gonzalez began having success with the Musketeers, he convinced Torres to try the sport once he started high school.

"Eric kind of took me under his wing when I first started wrestling," Torres said. "He was two years older than me, and he helped develop my skills faster and told me to always go hard in practice."

Torres said the hardest thing for him was adjusting to the other wrestlers. He struggled his first year, but made the varsity team in his sophomore season at MHS. Soon after he made the team, though, Torres was sidelined with an injury and missed half the year.

Torres soon regained his confidence and swagger when he participated in freestyle club wrestling in the summer between his sophomore and junior years.

"My junior year was my breakout season, I guess," Torres said. "I went to a couple of national tournaments, and although I didn't place, it was great to be there."

Torres finished the year by winning the individual Marmonte League championship for the 171-pound weight division. In a season that has been a little disappointing for the Musketeers wrestling team, Torres has shined brightly in '07 by only losing twice. When asked what matches he remembers the most, Torres came up blank.

"I actually don't remember the wins that much; they all kind of become a blur," Torres said. "I tend to remember the losses and think about how I could have done better. I think that it's better that you don't remember the wins rather than if you don't remember the losses, because that means you are winning more than losing."

Head coach Travis Lavalle said every win Torres gets, he deserves.

"He is a very hard worker and a good technical wrestler," Lavalle said. "He is a good role model, and I think it's good for the younger kids to have an example like him here."

This past season, Torres became more of a team leader when he was named one of the two captains for MHS.

"It's kind of weird that I'm a captain now," Torres said. "I think I am more of a quiet leader. It's more demanding this year. If something goes wrong, the coaches blame you even if you're not there."

Even though Torres isn't used to being a captain, Lavalle said that he shows very good traits in being a good team leader.

"He is basically a coaches' dream," Lavalle said. "He is a great role model to the kids, and he is proof that good things happen to people that work hard. He doesn't go out and party with all the cool kids, but he's still a great person, and that rubs off on the younger wrestlers."

Torres said that besides the help he's received from Gonzalez, Lavalle has also helped him become a better wrestler.

"He has helped a lot in my technique," Torres said. "He always tells me to wrestle my own match and to never give up, even if you are losing."

Lavalle thinks Torres could go far in CIF this season if he gets the right breaks.

"Last year he was seeded sixth and made it to the semifinals," Lavalle said. "This year I think he is more confident and less timid on his feet, and hopefully that can translate into him pulling through this year for a top finish."