Sacrifice: Ajpop Outpaces The Competition

HOLLAND, MI
They say football is a game of inches. The same can be said about the sport of wrestling; advancement made incremental over years of training. Junior Santos Ajpop has shattered that notion, improving in wrestling by leaps and bounds. In a mere 2 years, he has cemented himself as not only a varsity wrestler, but as a team leader. Ajpop opened up to us about his training regiment and what motivates him to excel. 

How did you prepare for this season?
I prepared for this season by going to most of the off-season practices and getting in the room with Coach Keenan and also attending Myrmidon and learning new techniques.

What got you into wrestling?
I got into wrestling because I was ashamed of my athletic abilities and I was always interested in combat sports and always wanted to try one out and wrestling was a good opportunity.

How were the open mat sessions this summer?
During the summer I went to all the open mats that I could.

What are some of the hurdles you have to face?
One of my hurdles was that sometimes there would be a scheduled open mat and I'd be busy.  But thankfully Coach Keenan would make time so that I could get into the room and practice my technique and learn new things. 

What has been for motivation in the off season?
My motivation for this season is to make it to Regional(s) and to advance my techniques.

Who is your wrestling hero?
My wrestling hero is probably gonna be all my mentors because they give me a whole bunch of opportunities to improve in this sport and they give me more one on one mentoring than what other athletes would usually get.