Athlete of the Week: Peninsula Wrestling Club’s Xavier Bruening

On Sunday, April 24, Bruening topped the podium in the heavyweight division of the California USA Wrestling Freestyle State Championships in Fresno. After reaching the finals with three wins via fall — a tech fall followed by two pins — Bruening earned a technically sound, highly proficient 7-6 decision over Lemoore High School Wrestling’s Jose Isaia Morales to claim the state title.

“I was just able to control the match more my way, tire him out, use my underhooks to my advantage,” Bruening said. “It was pretty high level. Pretty slow, pretty calculated. Both of us were waiting for the other to make a mistake and ultimately I was able to capitalize more.”

Now, Bruening has the unprecedented distinction of being named Daily Journal Athlete of the Week in the same sport, in the same year, as he previously earned Daily Journal Athlete of the Year honors. And the high school senior isn’t done. His championship appearance in Fresno earned him the right to advance to the freestyle national championships in July in Fargo, North Dakota.

Bruening is brimming with confidence, even though he hasn’t competed at the national tournament since the summer after his freshman year. The pandemic sidetracked his efforts to return prior to this year.

“I have improved a ton since my freshman year … so I think I realistically I could have a shot at placing,” Bruening said.

A lifer on the wrestling circuit, Bruening found his Peninsula Club Wrestling coach, Andre Monney, when he arrived at Burlingame Intermediate School in sixth grade. Monney not only worked at BIS but ran the school’s wrestling program.

While Bruening now wrestles at the 285-pound heavyweight division, he was already an imposing 180 pounds in middle school. The biggest problem Bruening had at that early stage of his wrestling career was finding competition that could go toe-to-toe with him.

“He’s super explosive, he’s super strong,” Monney said. “In eighth grade he was always the biggest kid in the room, so he didn’t really have anyone to work out with. So, I’d wrestle with him.”

Bruening would go on to solidify himself as one of the top heavyweights in the history of Burlingame High. Wrestling in the traditional folkstyle discipline — a more reserved style used in high schools — Bruening has long preferred freestyle wrestling where throwing one’s opponents is not only legal, it is encouraged.

“It’s a lot more in line with my style of wrestling,” Bruening said.

But the senior learned to push the limits. In earning the Peninsula Athletic League heavyweight championship with a tech fall against Sequoia’s Lesoni Olive, Bruening wowed the crowd at Sequoia High School with a throw, of sorts, that resembled more of a suplex seen in professional wrestling than anything akin to the amateur ranks.

The maneuver was a legal one in the folkstyle discipline only because Bruening did not cling lift his opponent over the top, but instead threw him to the side. In freestyle wrestling, however, Bruening doesn’t need to restrain himself.

“Those are still kind of my bread and butter because you get to the high school season and guys aren’t expecting it,” Bruening said.

Bruening has spent years refining his freestyle approach, a learning curve he was able to accelerate by training with former Half Moon Bay standout Caspian Grabowski, who now wrestles at the NCAA Division I level at University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

“It made me a lot better at folkstyle, but I really developed a passion for freestyle,” Bruening said.

And he certainly got the chance to show off his freestyle moves in Fresno.

Facing Hoopa Valley High School’s Gerard Marshall in the quarterfinals was a big thrill for Bruening. Marshall finished the high school season as the North Coast Section champion and ranked No. 10 in the CIF among heavyweights. Bruening finished ranked No. 16. But Bruening made quick work of his quarterfinal opponent, using a Japanese arm throw — one that would be illegal in the folkstyle discipline — to bring him to the ground. Bruening pounced quickly from there, flipping Marshall to his back and pinning him just 28 seconds into the match.

Monney said what was more impressive than the technical execution was how Bruening identified the opportunity so quickly and capitalized.

“It’s almost like how quickly he thought about it to know what he was able to do,” Monney said.

Bruening’s showdown in the finals required a different type of discipline.

Morales also finished the high school season ranked ahead of Bruening, slotting at No. 12 among CIF heavyweights. And the Lemoore wrestler showed why, overcoming an early 4-0 deficit on the scorecards to draw even at 4.

“The match was intense,” Bruening said. “Just very back and forth.”

In the second period, Bruening took the lead for good, scoring a takedown and a push out to mount a 7-4 lead. During the third period with 30 seconds to go in the match, Morales benefitted from a replay review to earn his final 2 points. Bruening, however, also benefitted from the review as it gave him time to rest.

From there, he went on to hold off Morales to earn the state heavyweight title.

“The adjustments he was able to make in mid-match … and just keep his composure, it was really cool to watch,” Monney said.

Now, Bruening is on a mission to bring back a “stop sign” from Fargo, North Dakota, a nickname given to the trophies awarded to top-eight placers at the state championships because of their octagonal shape. Bruening has automatically qualified for the freestyle tournament. He is also filing for a special waiver to compete in the Greco-Roman tournament, also held in Fargo in July, as he can’t compete in the state qualifier since it falls on the same weekend of Burlingame’s graduation ceremony.

Bruening is eligible to apply for a special waiver because he appeared in the Greco-Roman national championships as a freshman.

“You’re getting a chance to represent your state on a national level,” Bruening said. “So, I’m hoping I can do it well and come home with a stop sign.”