Alena awarded coach of the year
An evening of celebration took place in the annual Beat the Streets Awards Gala at Bryant Park Grill on May 17. The Gala honored a host of athletes and contributors to wrestling, including Curtis’ wrestling coach, Chris Alena.
Alena was nominated for the girls high school coach of the year award by the organization. Rosemary Flores, the team captain, spoke about why he was a good canidate for the award. “He’s a good coach and he tries his best to do everything for the team. If it weren’t for him the team would be nowhere,” said Flores.
“I was very excited and actually surprised when I won the award,” said Alena. He credits the members of the team for his success as a coach and winning the award. When asked how he feels the wrestlers contributed to his winning the award, Alena said, “The girls make coaching very easy. They work hard and are a very dedicated group.”
This season the team was undefeated with a 7-0 record, which Alena believes played a role in him being nominated for the award. “I believe I was chosen for the award because of the success of my team and being a pioneer in girls wrestling, winning five gold medals.”