10:00pm |  Recently, the Moore League wrestling scene has been dominated by Lakewood and Millikan. But at Wilson, coach Seth Wegter is building a respected program with not only solid athletes, but quality people as well.

The Bruins finished fourth in the Moore League standings, but senior Miguel Peralta (171) and junior Josh Newman (160) are two of the league’s elite wrestlers.  They’ve combined to go 59-15 this season.  Both Newman and Peralta are what Wegter calls “students of the sport,” and its that mentality that have both getting better each week.

“It is very exciting to me to constantly learn new things both on and off the mat and I am working so hard to prove that I am a worthy opponent,” Peralta said. “I think my mental toughness and aggressiveness have been key to my success and I think those two things go hand-in-hand.”

Peralta (31-5) is undefeated in league action this year and has won both the Magnolia and MIT Tournaments, while placing third at the Millikan Duals and the Troy Classic.

Peralta has been a model leader for Wegter.

“Miguel is extremely dedicated, rarely takes breaks and is constantly trying new moves,” Wegter said. “As wrestlers, they couldn’t be more different. Miguel is talkative and Josh is pretty quiet, but they both inspire our team with their hard work and success.”

Peralta would obviously like to see Wilson reach the heights to which Lakewood and Millikan have set annually, but he knows what it will take to get there.

“It will take a lot of determination, heart and respect to (get to that level), because the other programs have so much experience,” Peralta said. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t have some tricks up our sleeve.”

Despite his strength and aggressive approach, Peralta’s reaction to failure is perhaps his greatest personal trait.

“When either of them lose, they reflect on what they could have done better and acknowledge what their opponent did well,” said Wegter.”It is great to see good sportsmanship and humility out of these two kids.”

Peralta thanks his family, teammates and coaches for their support and has high hopes for the final month of his prep career.  The senior captain expects to continue his Moore League domination on Saturday when Wilson hosts the individual league finals and wants to place at the CIF Individuals.

Peralta’s final few weeks on the mat at Wilson will soon be over, but he knows what he wants to be remembered for by his younger teammates.  “I want to be remembered for leading by example and that anything is possible with a lot of hard work.”

Newman (28-10) won both the Troy Classic and Millikan Duals and placed second at MIT and third at the Magnolia Tournament.  The 16-year old is a very quiet, bright and driven athlete.

As aggressive as Peralta is on the mat, Wegter see’s Newman as a more cerebral kind of wrestler, who waits for an opportunity to set up his moves.  Newman’s work ethic is something that Wegter raves about and is said to be the first to arrive and last to leave at every practice.

“I love wrestling in such a competitive league, because it can only make you better,” Newman said. “We know at Wilson we need to drill, train and wrestle really hard if we want to make our program better known.”

Newman hates losing, but uses it as motivation.

“I always ask myself ‘what did I do wrong that I need to fix for the next time?'”

After being pinned by Millikan’s 152-pound captain Nick Pena on a Thursday, Newman learned from his loss and two days later won the Troy Classic as a testament to his resolve.

“Josh is someone that represents our program the way we want it represented and is someone I look forward to as the future of our program,” Wegter said. “He is always willing and eager to learn and improve, and as a coach, that’s the best type of athlete you could hope to have.”

Newman is someone who should do well at Saturday’s league finals and hopes to place at CIF two weeks later.  As far as he’s come in just two years as a wrestler, his future remains bright.

The Wilson program hasn’t been as successful in wins and losses in the Moore League as they’d like to be or will be in the future, but they do things the right way.  At a recent dual at Poly, despite being significantly behind, every Bruin wrestler from the freshman team all the way up to varsity was verbally and emotionally behind their teammates in each match like it was the decisive match of the night.

If the lead Peralta and Newman have set for the future is followed by their younger teammates, the Bruins will indeed be a program on the rise.  And the Moore League will be better for it.

For now, Peralta and Newman will continue to win both on and off the mat, for it is their character that will outweigh anything that happens in a gym.  Said Wegter: “Both Josh and Miguel have wrestled well all season, but more importantly, I am fortunate to have such quality gentleman in my program.”