Pinnacle High School Wrestling

By Wendy Levey

Why Wrestle?
Wrestling is a unique sport that anyone can compete in regardless of size, shape or speed. You are part of a team but once you step out on that mat,  it is just you and the opponent.  It is one of the best sports to enhance your overall fitness level since it emphasizes the development of strength, flexibility, balance, endurance and agility. Wrestling helps develop many qualities to succeed in life including self-confidence, independence and discipline.  To quote the great Dan Gable “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy!”

Our Team
During the 2014-2015 season our wrestlers achieved success on and off the mat:

• PHS Wrestlers volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul to feed the homeless and collected back-to-school supplies in conjunction with Aviano Community Center.

• PHS Wrestlers are members of numerous other athletic teams, clubs, and honor societies.

• Numerous wrestlers reached academic success with a GPA of greater than 3.0.

• PHS Wrestling was named a “Team Rockin’Refuel” High School, a group of top-level high schools (www. rockinrefuel.com).

• 3 – 1st place Champions and 8 placers (almost 80% of participating wrestlers) at the Joseph City Invitational Tournament in 2015.

• Multiple tournament placers at Paradise Valley JV Tournament, Moon Valley Invitational, Buckeye Invitational, Pack Invitational and Section III Championship.

• AZ State Championship 4th Place Winner in 132 lb class.

• 2 graduating wrestlers became part of the Warrior Class, the brave few who have wrestled all fours years of high school.

Numerous PHS team records were broken

• HS Wrestler Jayce Clary will join the Grand Canyon University wrestling team in the fall of 2015.

• Jayce Clary – 132 won the Outstanding Wrestler Award (one of 3 total given out) at the Joseph City Tournament.  This was the second year in a row that one of our team has won the award.

• The Pinnacle High School Athlete of the Month Designation (one male and one female per month)was awarded to one of our wrestlers all 3 months of our 2014 -2015 season (DEC/JAN/FEB). No other sport has swept during their season.

• For the past 5 years, PHS Wrestling has placed at EVERY tournament we have attended.

• Over the past 3 seasons, we have increased our total Team points by
  over 500%.

We are Pinnacle Wrestling
“We Can’t Be Broken”

Pinnacle Wrestling means total domination. Physically and mentally we take control of every drill, every practice, and every match. We accomplish this domination through total support for each and every team member.

Pinnacle Wrestling means pride in being a part of something special. We show that pride in the way we move fast into each drill, in the way we help each other nutrition, weight management, and academics. When we think of this team, every one of us is proud to say, “I’m part of that”.  Pinnacle Wrestling means faith in every aspect of the program. We believe in our coaches, our program and most importantly ourselves. We show this faith in the way we respond to our coaches and teammates with enthusiasm and eagerness.

Pinnacle Wrestling means an “In Your Face” attitude that is part of everything we do. We show this through our aggressiveness in the room and in competition. Each practice and match is a spectacle of constant motion, of precise angles, of correct position, and of all out intensity. We accept that we will be challenged to live up to this through the entire season, but that is what our commitment to excellence means. We take responsibility for our preparation, to work smart and always act on our priorities. By letting go of criticism, by showing trust in ourselves, and by showing respect to every team member we balance the hard work with fun.

We have a hundred reasons to believe that this is our season. We have the talent. We have the desire. We have the work ethic, and the coaches, and the great facilities. Most of all, we know what it means to dominate and we will do it as a team.

“We Can’t Be Broken” We are Pinnacle Wrestling
Visit us at pinnaclewrestling.shutterfly.com or on facebook.

Our Coaches

Head Coach – Coach Ben Braasch
Coach Braasch has been with the Pioneers since 2009. Coach Braasch grew up in Portland, Maine where he wrestled for Deering HS. While wrestling at Deering, he was a 4x state qualifier, 3x state finalist, 2x state champion and Academic All-American. After graduating, Coach Braasch wrestled at Wyoming Seminary Prep School in Pennsylvania, winning several tournament titles. Coach Braasch went on to wrestle D-I at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Assistant Varsity Coach – Coach Chris Reid
Coach Reid joined the Pinnacle Wrestling team in 2013. Coach Reid was a very successful high school wrestler in Arizona at Glendale’s Cactus HS and went on to wrestle collegiately at Ohio Northern University. Before becoming the assistant coach at Pinnacle, Coach Reid spent the prior ten years as an assistant wrestling coach at Peoria’s Sunrise Mountain HS.

Head JV Coach and Team Statistician – Coach Jonathon Wetzel
Coach Wetzel has been with the Pioneers since 2010.  Coach Wetzel was on the varsity soccer and basketball teams for Pope John XXIII Regional HS in northern New Jersey. Coach Wetzel went on to play D-III basketball for Rhode Island School of Design. Coach graduated with honors from ASU.

Assistant Coach – Coach Pat Hurley
Coach Hurley has been with the team for three years. He is our on campus liaison for any wrestler’s needs during the school day as well as our logistical transportation planner for away meets and tournaments. He brings a depth of experience and strategic planning to our team from his work coaching multiple sports from Football to Track.

2015-2016 WRESTLING Calendar

Pinnacle High School 2015 Football Calendar
Games begin at 7pm.

*games are subject to change

For more details please visit our website at pinnaclefootball.com