Photo by Jonathon Moedano

Manny Kothe, in white, wrestles a difficult match that tests his skills and wins the match at San Pasqual. He was very proud of this match because his opponent was tough to beat. “Manny puts in an incredible amount of effort into practice and matches,” Jim Kothe said.

Manny Kothe, a senior at Missions Hills High, has come a long way in his past four years of highschool, from passing finals to going to states for wrestling. Along with those things, he has faced challenges, one of those being only having one hand.
“Having one hand has been tough and it is hard to do a lot of moves, but it isn’t just a disadvantage. Wrestling with one hand has allowed me to work on moves in different ways that work for me,” Kothe said.
While he has faced many significant challenges due to him not having one hand, like having to learn to tie his shoelaces differently, to learning how to wrestle, he still finds a way to adapt.
“I started wrestling about seven years ago. I enjoy competing and winning, but wrestling teaches me a lot of life skills,” Kothe said.
Manny has found wrestling as an outlet not only to help him get in better physical shape but also help him learn valuable life lessons such as problem-solving. He has found a lot of support from his parents and other family members and friends. He has made many good memories with his teammates all throughout the seasons.
“My favorite memory was from my senior season when I got really close with my fellow seniors and we drove to tournaments together and all hung out with the Carlsbad wrestlers, and my favorite tournaments were Holtville and Masters,” Kothe said.
Manny has put uncountable hours and days into this sport and because of his hard work and dedication to the sport he has won many awards throughout his highschool career.
“My sophomore year I earned the most escapes and coaches award. My junior year I got a sixth place medal from the San Pasqual Tournament and sixth at Jim Londos Tournament. My senior year I got sixth at San Pasqual, eighth at Lakeside and fourth at Jim Londos.
Manny has come a long way in his wrestling career and has put in so much time and effort. He has accomplished so much despite the challenges he faces and doesn’t let a disadvantage get in the way of him working hard.
“Wrestling has also allowed me to work harder and show me that nothing in life comes easy,” Kothe said.