Orange Lutheran senior Tyler Stone did not plan on becoming a wrestler.
 
But during his sophomore year, he found a connection with the sport and hasn't looked back. Competing in the 132-pound division this season, Stone earned a 3^rd place finish at Trinity League Finals and punched his ticket to CIF-SS Prelims.
 
"It's difficult, but with what you get out of it, I gained my confidence," says Stone. "I got stronger, I got bigger and it also brought me closer to God. The struggles that I went through with wrestling, even stepping on that mat, going through the difficulties made me a better person."
 
Stone has his sights set on making it to the CIF State meet, a goal that he and the OLu coaching staff believe is within reach.
 
"It took a lot of convincing to get Tyler on the team, but in just two years, he rose to become one of the top kids in the state," says OLu wrestling head coach Heber Castillo. "Dedication, hard work and a refusal to quit defined him and will continue to give him success for the rest of his life."
 
As a captain and a senior leader for the Lancers this year, Stone uses his experience as a newer wrestler to connect with his fellow teammates who are just getting started in the sport.
 
"I don't want to be someone who is a captain but doesn't want to connect with the others," says Stone. "I try and put myself as someone who just started wrestling, like I used to be, and match them on a level of knowing what [they're] going through. I've been there, and I try and guide them because I know how difficult it is to wrestle and the pain that comes with it."
 
During his sophomore season, Stone experienced a significant injury that kept him sidelined for eight months. Unsure if he would be able return to the sport, he recognized how important wrestling had become in his life, and he was determined to get back on the mat, for himself and for the program.
 
"I love competing for OLu," says Stone. "I love my coaches, I love the staff and the alumni that come back and help out. The only reason I wrestled is because of the environment that I was in. So just being able to prove myself and also make past alumni proud of the hard work I put in, it shows how this sport is really connected."
 
Stone feels he has learned a number of life lessons from wrestling that have developed his work ethic and shaped his faith journey.
 
"It's shown me discipline and determination, especially with the amount of effort and time you have to put into it," says Stone. "Waking up early, doing extra practices and just working harder than I've ever done in any other sport…It's that mental side of it of knowing God's with me."
 
Stone is pursuing a career as a software engineer, and as his time in wrestling draws to a close, he remains thankful for the guidance of his coaches and the influence of his older brother, Zack Stone '21, who first introduced him to the sport.
 
"To my brother, I probably wouldn't have even started wrestling if it wasn't for him," says Stone. "My coaches, they set my expectations higher than I could have even imagined, and they brought me to those expectations to where I feel like I can make them now.