Photo By Max Lonzanida | Colorado Springs, Co. U.S. Navy Master at Arms Third Class Pablo Monreal is shown...... read more read more
Story by Master-at-Arms First Class Simone Campbell
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Security Department.
Yorktown, Va. (March 22, 2024) WrestleMania 40 promises to draw crowds to Philadelphia this year on April 6-7th as fans from near and watch this signature World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event. The 40th iteration of the annual event promises to draw in some of the WWE’s most talented wrestlers. Earlier this year, Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Yorktown’s Security Department sent one of their own to compete as part of the All Navy Wrestling Team across the continent to Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. Enter into the ring Master at Arms Third Class Pablo Monreal.
Monreal, a native of Colorado, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2021. He was part of his high school’s varsity wrestling team, and it was his recruiter who originally pointed out the unique opportunity to wrestle as part of the All Navy Sports Program. “The Navy has a lot of Sailors that have the ability to compete in sports at the National level and higher. The All-Navy Sports program is here to assist those Sailors in making that happen,” said Michael Morris, All-Navy Sports Program Manager.
After completing the rigorous Master at Arms “A” school and upon reporting to NWS Yorktown, he pursued the opportunity to wrestle at the national level. “The Navy All sports website has an application process where you fill out a form and your accolades and what you’ve achieved in wrestling,” said Monreal. “I completed the application on my off hours, and I had it up through my chain of command. Our SECO, and installation leadership they were great, and they supported me one hundred percent.” He also noted that “it just shows that the Navy does offer opportunities for sailors to branch outside of what they do.”
That support and desire to hone his repertoire of Greco-Roman style wrestling paid dividends when he was selected and received TAD orders in January 2024. He joined other Sailors who hailed from points far and near at the MWR wrestling camp at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington. Conditioning and training started from day one after arriving and possibly enjoying an obligatory cup of brew from the state’s thriving coffee scene.
There was a diverse mixture of Sailors “who had experience wrestling in high school or at the amateur level. There was a mixture of third classes and there was even a Senior Chief on the team training with us,” recalled Monreal. Training and learning from others was tough and regimented, and he recalled a few times where he was slammed to the mat “so hard that I may have saw stars.” He didn’t recall how many times he threw fellow Sailors onto the mat, and pointed out that he returned to his room after each training day exhausted and sore; but very eager to learn more the following day. They trained and honed their skills for nearly a month before departing for his home state of Colorado to compete in the Armed Forces Wrestling Championships at the Air Force Academy. There, he competed as part of the All Navy Wrestling Team during the first week of March 2024. “We battled it out the best we could against the Army and the Air Force Teams,” he recalled. “We went out there with the right mindset and we all gave it all that we had. And we went hard. Unfortunately, on my side I did loose some of my matches,” said Monreal.
He did note some key takeaways from his stellar experiences in the Pacific Northwest and while competing against other teams in his home state of Colorado. He noted that these can be applied to his role here as part of the dedicated Security Department onboard NWS Yorktown. “If there was a suspect who was hands on fighting us, I think with the enhanced skills that I have now I could definitely and safely return them to the floor without injuring them,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to do a complete suplex on a suspect because there is a chance of injuring them, but with the correct techniques that I picked up, I can definitely have them return to the floor,” remarked Monreal.
He clarified for this Public Affairs Officer exactly what a suplex is. In very articulate words, he described a suplex as a throw that involves lifting an opponent, and using core and upper body strength to bridge them or roll them onto their back to gain the control. And quite fortunately, there was a time constraint that prevented the demonstration of said suplex on this Public Affairs Officer.
| Date Taken: | 03.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.21.2024 13:27 |
| Story ID: | 466766 |
| Location: | YORKTOWN , VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 91 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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