Athlete of the Week: Riordan’s David Aberouette

It’s quickly apparent Aberouette has nothing but love for his sister Dorian, and six brothers, Ray, Rob, Felix, Gene, Randy and Jean Paul. The San Bruno native even followed in Gene and Randy’s footsteps by attending Riordan, where he has pursued the family passion as a standout baseball player.

One of the other athletic passions of his family is wrestling, a sport in which Aberouette has earned Daily Journal Athlete of the Week honors for rising to the top of the podium to earn a Central Coast Section individual championship in the 160-pounds division.

The 6-2 Aberouette put the “strong” in wiry strong, posting a 5-0 record while getting more and more dominant over the course of the two-day tournament at Watsonville High School. Other than a contentious match in the second round of the bracket with Gilroy freshman Ruben Le — Aberouette overcame an early deficit to win a 7-4 decision — the Riordan senior breezed through the rest of the best 160s the CCS had to offer, including an 18-1 tech fall victory over Mountain View senior Jack Hecht in the finals.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence,” Aberouette said. “Most of the time I’ve got to wake up a little bit. But I’ve got a ton of confidence that I can beat a lot of these wrestlers. [Riordan head coach Zac Contreras] brainwashes me that I’m the champion … and I went out there and proved him right.”

Not that Aberouette was projected to win the title. Far from it. He entered the weekend tourney ranked No. 8 in the CCS at 160s and was unseeded in the 28-man bracket.

One person, however, believed Aberouette was the No. 1 wrestler heading into the 160s tournament. That was Contreras, who delivered a pep talk to his star senior earlier in the week after learning he was unseeded.

“’That’s not going to change a thing,’” Aberouette said, recounting his coach’s words. “’They’re disrespecting you. You’re going to go out there and tear up some brackets.’ And that’s what I did. I kind of liked that actually.”

Not that the seeding committee had much to go on regarding Aberouette’s season. During the regular season, he only wrestled in four matches, all at the Webber Lawson Memorial Wrestling Tournament in Fremont. He totaled just two more individual bouts after that, earning two wins at the West Catholic Athletic League championships, claiming the 160s title after previously settling for second place twice, first as a freshman in 2019 and again in 2020.

Aberouette hadn’t previously faced any of the five opponents he took on in the CCS tournament. But that’s just the way he likes it.

“I don’t know who I’m facing,” Aberouette said. “I just like to show up and fight knowing I’m the best wrestler.”

He had to earn it in the second-round match against Le, though.

Aberouette cruised to a tech fall victory in his first match of the day against Capuchino senior Emil Khoury. And entering his showdown with Le, he was admittedly in need of a wake-up call.

“I came out super slow in the match, kind of sleepy and he took me down,” Aberouette said. “Oh, he poked my eye, and that was the turning point. He took me down and my mind was just mad. I was like: ‘I am not going to lose this match.’”

Trailing after the end of the first round, Aberouette woke up in the second, scoring a 2-point takedown with a single leg sweep. It was the first of three takedowns of the 5-7 Le in the match for Aberouette.

“I knew I could get on my offense … and I knew I could use my size advantage,” Aberouette said.

Now, if only Aberouette could only take that confidence into dinnertime with his brothers and sisters back home.

Just kidding.

In all seriousness, Aberouette credits his siblings with helping raise him right. And the wiry strength comes not from going hungry but from a strict and disciplined diet, which he credits to his mother Suny’s cooking.

“I’m always working out with my brothers and they’re always pushing me,” Aberouette said. “And my mother is a phenomenal cook and I’m always eating healthy.”