There are some interesting observations about Daniel Figueroa’s wrestling style.
One is from the Hamilton West senior himself.
“I’m like a machine gun,” the guy known as Figs said. “Or like a pitbull.”
Gerardo Belviso won’t argue with that.
“He’s kind of like a brawler, bulldog type wrestler,” the West coach said. “He’s ready for a fight. Off the mat he’s one of the nicest kids you’ll ever meet but once he puts that foot on the line he’s a warrior.”
A warrior who expects to conquer new worlds this season.
After going 10-4 and losing in the District 21 quarterfinals as a freshman, Figueroa became a regional qualifier the next two years; finishing second in districts as a sophomore and third as a junior. Last season he went 18-7 with nine pins, a technical fall and six major decisions.
He started this campaign with two dual meet wins, pushing his career record to 63-28.
Figueroa has lost twice in his region appearances making the goal simple for his senior season – win a district championship and advance to the state championship in Atlantic City.
“I want to get to AC, and I want to be on that wall,” he said, motioning to the banners of district and region champions in Hamilton’s wrestling room.
Belviso feels it can be done, despite the fact Figueroa suffered a broken forearm two games into the football season and did not return until the Thanksgiving game. He required surgery and had a plate inserted.
“I tackled somebody and we all went down low at one time and I got sandwiched,” the defensive end/running back recalled. “I was worried but I knew I was gonna come back harder. I knew rehab wasn’t gonna be long and I’d get better. I was practicing before Thanksgiving.”
He ended up making four tackles against Steinert with no ill-effects Knowing his arm was fully healed gave Figueroa confidence heading into the wrestling season.
“The doctors were telling me I’m fine and that I could do whatever with my arm because it’s fully healed,” he said. “I was working out and ready to get into it.”
Prior to the season opener Belviso said, “He looks fantastic.”
“He has his eyes on that next level,” the coach continued. “He can absolutely push for a district title. That’s his main goal. He knows this is his last hurrah. He’s gonna lay it all out on the line.
“His mindset coming into the season is really good, he’s focused. I’d love to see him get toward that region and his eyes are set higher. He wants to go as far as he can.”
He believes in himself, which is the key, the coach says.
“We say that half the battle is truly believing you can do it,” Belviso continued. “He believes it. Now it’s a matter of setting out and seeing what happens. It’s his last year, but he’s really focused and ready. I’m excited.”
The youngest of three brothers, Figueroa started wrestling with Andy and Juan at age 9. Andy also wrestled for Hamilton and tried to condition Daniel for what was to come.
“He would always try to wrestle me hard and get me prepared for wrestling in high school because it was way different than middle school,” Figueroa said. “He wrestled me hard and that’s why it comes easier to me. It made me improve more and made me get better mentally, knowing I have someone I could look up to that did this.”
Figueroa started organized wrestling with Hamilton PAL and eventually switched to Immortal Wrestling Club in Mount Holly.
Although he wasn’t considered a regular during his 9th-grade year, he proved himself to the coaching staff.
“Right out of the gates from his freshman year he’s been the complete package,” Belviso said. “He’s physically gifted, he’s explosive, he has great conditioning.”
But the wrestler felt he still had to get in better shape.
“Freshman year gave me a boost,” he said. “I learned what I needed to do for the conditioning part. I didn’t want to be tired like I was freshman year. I did a whole off-season of wrestling and running.”
During his sophomore season, Figueroa got a key victory when he decisioned Robbinsville’s Taylor Adams, 12-10. Adams had won their encounter the previous season, and winning the rematch made Figueroa know he belonged.
“That gave me some big confidence my sophomore year,” he said.
Belviso feels Figueroa is both a pinner and a grinder. He can plant his opponent but is also able to go the distance. But the coaches worry he might burn out too early sometimes.
“He’s always pushing the pace,” Belviso said. ”We work on slowing down and throttling back. He’s so aggressive and we want him just picking his spots and choosing his moments.
“At the beginning of the match there’s been times he comes out so fired up, like he’s shot from a cannon, and he runs into a big move. From that point, he dogfights his way back. But against good wrestlers if you give up those five-point moves early it can be an uphill battle.”
Thus, Figueroa needs know when to go full force
“It’s more a case of expending energy when it’s necessary,” Belviso said. “I’m not worried about his gas tank. That’s part of it. Sometimes he has the tendency to come out and go straight through a wall. I love that and a lot of times it’s the opposite. I’m trying to get kids to come out with fire.
“It’s funny, I can’t say there’s many kids I’ve coached where I’ve tried to slow them down a little bit. But we just want him to get a little bit of the feel of the match, get the hand fighting a little bit and when he’s ready to go, he can be explosive.”
Or, relentless.
“I like to see their body wear down,” Figueroa said. “I wrestle hard and if they quit, then I pin them.”
Figueroa enjoys starting in the neutral position because he’s strong on his legs and fast on his feet. He feels he has improved in several areas since his freshman year.
“Mentally I’m getting better just from wrestling over the years,” he said. “And I’ve gotten better at knowing when to shoot and how to prepare for a match. And football helps with some of the roughness and toughness.”
Belvizo is hoping Figueroa’s attitude will rub off on the rest of the team.
“You’re going out there to battle,” the coach said. “What sets him apart is his mindset is already there. As soon as he gets out there, he lays it on the line. His heart is bigger than anything. I would say he’s super relentless on the mat. He never gives up. No matter what the score is his mindset is fantastic.
“If he gets down early he’s not the kind of kid that’s gonna pack it in and give up. He sticks his foot down and he just goes, goes, goes. There’s been many times he comes back from deficits because he can push the pace. He lives and thrives in that third period. He keeps coming at you. I love him to death.”
With a 3.5 grade point average, Figueroa is hoping a college will love him just as much as he hopes to continue wrestling after high school. He may also have coaching in his future as he helps his brothers work with the PAL wrestlers.
“I’ve been in their shoes and I can relate to them because I used to not give it everything I got,” he said. “I try to teach the littler kids that to give it all you got because you don’t want to live with regret.”
Regret is one thing that Figueroa will never have when it comes to wrestling.