THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Del Oro High School Athletics


DEL ORO'S SIDHU HAS SIGHTS SET ON STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Del Oro's Sidhu has sights set on state championship

JORDAN GEORGESON

Gold Country Media | 1/14/2024

PHOTO CREDIT: Jordan Georgeson

Del Oro High School sophomore Siraj Sidhu has his sights set on Bakersfield, aiming to be the school’s first state champion wrestler since 2018. He placed fifth at the CIF State Championships at 106 pounds last season and feels he can do even better this year.

“I definitely want to do better than I did last year and my biggest goal is winning state,” Sidhu said. “I will do whatever it takes, even if that means having some tournaments that I don’t do as well so that I can see where I’m at and improve for state. I just want to be performing at my best at the right time.”

Sidhu started when he was 5 years old, and now 16, he’s become one of the top grapplers in the state. He got into wrestling because of his father, who was his coach as he grew up.

“He's been wrestling for a long time at a high level and he is just a very talented wrestler,” Del Oro coach Clint Madden said. “He brings a lot of skill and technique to the mat and he does things so well that the rest of the team can pick up on it.”

Sidhu currently is ranked sixth in the state at 113 pounds, according to FloWrestling. While being a top-10 wrestler is no small feat, Sidhu is not satisfied.

“I can improve it,” Sidhu said of his ranking. “Last year, I didn’t like my ranking and I improved it and for this year, I think I can definitely beat some of the kids that are ranked higher than me. I can definitely give them some close matches and I’m working to improve it before state so that I can get a better seed.”

Sidhu pinned his opponent in 21 seconds in Del Oro's dual-meet victory over Rocklin on Jan. 3 to improve to 16-2 this season. Sidhu then competed in the Doc Buchanan Tournament in Clovis last weekend and finished seventh with a 5-2 record.

Sidhu has cemented himself as one of the best wrestlers in recent years at Del Oro and hopes to continue to build on that legacy. He doesn’t plan to stop his involvement with Del Oro once he graduates, as he hopes to inspire future wrestlers.

“I want to be known as one of the greatest wrestlers to come through here,” Sidhu said. “Once I'm done wrestling, I'll come back and start hopefully finding ways to give back to the community. I just want to be known as a role model and hopefully be an inspiration to others that come through this program.”

Asked what motivates him each day, Sidhu said, “Just k... Click here to read full article

ARTICLE SOURCE:

PRIVACY POLICY | © 2024 MASCOT MEDIA, LLC