It’s an event that happens every year at Steinbrenner High School. It draws students from all over the state and ends with a few being crowned victors. It goes beyond this, however, to help the community at large, giving back to a family in need who has given Steinbrenner a lot. It is the Annual Live Greco Wrestling Tournament at Steinbrenner High School.
For many years, the Steinbrenner Wrestling Program has sponsored a tournament on this very campus. In a project spearheaded by Coach Paul Noble, the Steinbrenner Wrestling Team plans, runs and participates in a match. All of the money from this competition goes to a fund for the family of Greco Roman Bouzakis. Greco was a boy who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor when he was only a few months old. His father was very involved with Steinbrenner’s Wrestling team and cared so deeply for the sport he named his son after a style of wrestling.
When his son became sick, Coach Noble created this competition to help cover the cost of Greco’s medical bills. When Greco passed away on Thanksgiving of 2016, Coach Noble and the Steinbrenner Wrestling Team continued to hold the tournament in his honor, and still give to proceeds to his family. The Steinbrenner Wrestling Team worked hard to host and perform well at the competition.
“The team has been preparing all year physically to do the best we could at this tournament. We have been planning since the beginning of the school year as coach, the wrestlers, parents, and anyone affiliated with the team put a lot of effort into hosting this event. It could not have been done without dedicated parents and students working tables, concessions, setting up, and making sure everything ran smoothly for coaches and wrestlers.” said senior Nicholas Verastegui.
This year, the Annual Live Greco Wrestling Tournament was held on Feb. 2. Teams from all over the state came to Steinbrenner to participate.
Qualifying matches were held, with individual competitions in each weight class and schools overall placing too. Somerset High School from Pembroke Pines came in first place with a final score of 259.5 points. Riverview High School placed second with 168.5 points; Manatee High School placed third with 168 points, Steinbrenner High School placed fourth with 146 and Osceola High School placed fifth with 139 points. Steinbrenner had one first place winner, and three-second place winners, all of whom scored large numbers of points.
All of their hard work paid off. Between the event’s excellent execution, the great placing in the tournament itself and most of all, the support was shown for Greco Roman Bouzouki and his family; the Steinbrenner Wrestling Team did a fantastic job.
“He [Coach Noble] told us that Greco was a boy who fought every day of his life. And I have to say he went through more difficulty in his 5 or 6 years of life than some of us face in a lifetime. He told us that we were representing Greco in the time we were wrestling, and that hit hard,” said Verastegui.
Sadie Testa-Secca // Managing Editor
