Wrestling is a competitive sport that is often overlooked, but requires extreme strength, focus, and discipline, to succeed. The sport is a recipe for family dynasties, and the Moreno family is nothing short of that.

Currently, there are two wrestlers from the Moreno family competing on the wrestling team, junior Joshua and  sophomore Olivia.

“Being a Moreno can be hard,” Joshua said. “Everyone expects you to walk out on the mat and win, by a lot.”

Since wrestling is a vital piece of the Moreno family,  the kids started the sport at a young age.

“I was introduced to the sport when I was three years old, and I started competing at age seven,” Joshua said. “The beginning of my wrestling career was fun.”

For Olivia, wrestling hasn’t been a sport she’s done for a majority of her lifetime, but it is still important to her.

“I first started wrestling when I was a freshman,” Olivia said. “The Bowie varsity wrestling team is very fun and challenging because they expect you to act as a leader.”

On the wrestling team, there are tournaments that are practiced for and perfected by the team to win as many matches as possible.

“The wrestling tournaments are really fun; the competitiveness in the air is crazy and nothing can compare,” Joshua said. “During each match, the emotion, the intensity, the pressure, gets to everyone.”

In addition to the wrestlers, one of the head varsity wrestling coaches, Brittany Moreno, is a cousin to the two Moreno siblings, and is very familiar with the Moreno wrestling legacy.

“I have always been around the sport of wrestling and loved the environment,” Brittany said. “When I started teaching at Bowie, I was told there was a position open as a wrestling coach and I couldn’t resist the challenge.”

Since Brittany knows the Moreno siblings personally, she has special insight into their qualities as wrestlers.

“Joshua and Olivia are both great leaders in their own special ways; they are extremely competitive on and off the mat,” Brittany said. “This is a great quality to have for a sport that is physically and mentally the toughest sport I have ever seen.”

The current Moreno siblings are not the only ones that are well-known for being competitive on the varsity wrestling team.

“I come from a family full of wrestlers; there were four state placers and a state champion, and my little sister was a wrestler at Bowie,” Brittany said. “Yes, a lot of wrestling Morenos.”

With so many alumni, there is a legacy implanted for the current and future generations of Moreno wrestlers.

“Looking up to the Moreno legacy is kind of fun because I always want to be the best so I try to do better than all my cousins and brothers have before,” Olivia said. “It can be stressful though because they expect you to always be committed to the sport.”

The second head varsity wrestling coach, Glen Lewis, has a different perspective on the Morenos, since he interacts with them from outside of their family.

“There’s one thing you always hear when a discussion about the Morenos comes up and that’s fierce competitors,” Lewis said. “The family has had some special athletes come through Bowie.”

From a coach’s perspective, there are many characteristics that define leaders in the wrestling gym.

“It was expected because of the family history, but they are really leaders in the wrestling gym,” Lewis said. “They always work their tails off at practice.”

Being together constantly at wrestling tournaments  and practices allows for meeting new people interested in the same sport.

“My favorite part about wrestling has to be the friendships you make in the wrestling community,” Moreno said. “These are far greater than you could imagine.”

Since there are a lot of wrestlers that have had competitive and successful careers, it is inevitable that there will be comparisons among the family.

“Our family is very competitive, especially with each other, so everyone wants to do better than their sibling or cousin,” Brittany said. “However, the experience of watching your family be successful as well as competing against and side by side, is an indescribable feeling.”

The sport of wrestling is mentally and physically challenging, but is also rewarding in many different ways.

“Wrestling has really made me a better person in every way,” Joshua said. “Wrestling teaches discipline, responsibility and growth.”

For the Moreno family, wrestling is a lifestyle that has been participated in for generations, but is loved dearly by every member that plays the sport.

“If you ask all of my relatives, they all got into wrestling because our parents were in wrestling when they were younger,” Olivia said. “We all joined because our parents wanted us to, but we all continued because we love the sport.”