If you slow down a cross country event enough, you might be able to catch a glance at some of the Claremont High runners. And then if you were to slow it down even more, you might finally be able to see Ethan Wheeler as more than a blur. Don’t look too close though, as you might notice Sza playing in his airpods. But there is so much more than Chipotle and Celsius to the person that is Ethan Wheeler. In fact, Wheeler was just recently awarded the title, “Athlete of the Month.”
With Wheeler being the “Athlete of the Month,” it is no surprise that sports are an important part of his life. Besides a small soccer career when he was younger, his Mom, a collegiate athlete, introduced him to volleyball in the second grade. He has been committed ever since. As a senior, he has spent all four CHS years playing varsity volleyball for the Wolfpack. Wheeler puts in the work that is necessary to improve as a member of the team, training for roughly twelve hours each week. Each practice is far from easy, with lots of drills training players to be able to adapt and react quickly on the court, followed by instantaneous actions that must be played with little to no margin for error. The amount of effort put in by not only Wheeler, but the entire volleyball team, clearly has proven successful. His dedication and hard work, as well as his ability to work well with his team, has proven very useful to the volleyball court. This year, varsity volleyball at Claremont High School has had a very successful season with a 70 percent win rate. This gathered enough wins to qualify for CIF, which results will be revealed soon.
However, there is much more to being a volleyball player than what is on the court. The “Athlete of the Month” has more hobbies than just volleyball: he participates in cross country, and outside of the sports world, loves spending time with friends (as well as Chipotle and Starbucks). As a senior, he is graduating soon: graduating, however, shines a light on the other aspect of being a student athlete–the student part. Wheeler is going to UCSD, and has managed to keep his grades up despite the challenge sports are. He continues to elaborate on this challenge.
“A lot of time management, late nights, and staying up after a hard practice,” he said. “It’s just persevering and pushing through.”
Ethan Wheeler is a very dedicated person, putting in amazing amounts of effort to achieve his goals. As he is departing from his Claremont High journey, it is important to recognize his achievements and honor him as he moves forward with his life.
