In the words of his Chico High wrestling coaches, Rieker Pineda has been through hell and back.

Pineda has dealt with difficult dynamics at home for much of his life. At times, it has affected the mental side of his approach to wrestling since taking up the sport in seventh grade.

During his senior season, however, he's responded well to mental hurdles on and off the mat. As Pineda and the Panthers gear up for stretch run of the postseason, he talked to the E-R about the recent weeks of his season, which inlcluded overcoming a collarbone injury a few weeks ago, his goals for the rest of it, and where he came from.

Read more at: https://www.chicoer.com/tag/prep-athlete-of-the-week/.