Oswaldo Hérnandez-Hérnandez | Staff Writer
hernane5@imail.losrios.edu
City College student Joe Garner is posture ready for his wrestling match.Jourdan King | staff photographer
Fifteen former City College wrestles came back to campus Sept. 11 to wrestle against the current City College wrestlers.
This was the 30th consecutive year that City College students had the opportunity to wrestle against alumni. According to head wrestling coach, David Pacheco, there are three reasons behind this
alumni encounter.
The first is that it is a great way for fundraising. It also provides City College alumni with the opportunity to see what the new wrestlers look like, and more importantly it is a great opportunity for City College wrestlers to have the chance to wrestle against guys who have already been at this
level.
City College alumnus Dave Andrade, 53, came back to wrestle against current City College wrestlers. After wrestling against City College freshman Orlando Zarate, he crowned himself the oldest person to wrestle at City College.
Andrade said that he is still able to wrestle because he practices often against his 22-year-old son.
City College freshman wrestler Sophan Mey, 19, said this scrimmage helped him realize some of his weaknesses and gain confidence about his team strengths.
The wrestling team is working on new conditioning techniques so it doesn’t get bored. The members of the team often do long distance running, running up and down the stadium stairs and body exercise, as well as a new technique called spiders, which consist of walking with their hands across the room and their feet to the wall.
“The current wrestlers on the college team are doing great. They are coached by a great coach,” Andrade said. “I can’t see any weaknesses at all, except maybe just the upcoming freshmen need to get a little bit more mature and get some more matches under their belts.”
Andrade went to school with Pacheco and had the opportunity to wrestle against him in 1976.
City College wrestling team is looking forward to a successful season and will do its best to become state champions.
“We want to win the state championship. We want to qualify 10 wrestlers which is the maximum we can qualify,” said Pacheco. “But more then that, we want to see our guys get a good education experience and hopefully they will all transfer to a four-year school at sometime or another.”
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Mr. Pacheco and Mr. Ulrich,
Moments ago, I listened and read Coach Pacheco’s article that he was featured in titled: A Clouded Game Plan…
Although my Wrestling background is not as extensively decorated as yours and others; however, it has impacted me positively in many ways for my mind, time and energy to be consumed with concern for me to “take a stand” to keep Wrestling alive and flourishing.
It is sad news to see our California College and Universities Sports programs are suffering tremendously due to the budget cuts. It is not fair for Wrestling in California Colleges and Universities, which is an honorable sport, to be subtracted or “cut” completely from our school systems. In my opinion, it is a slowly dying art that needs to be preserved. We as a community need to prevent the sport of Wrestling from being “dropped like flies”. The drive, energy and time that Wrestlers have in competition is the same level of drive, energy and time needed to be put into saving our Wrestling program(s).
Is there already something in the works as far as raising money or a fundraiser to promote saving Wrestling from being cut?
How do we get local community figures such as, Urijah Faber, Kenneth Alexander, Joseph Benavidez, Danny Castillo, Mike Ortega, Justin Buchholz, Dustin Akbari, TJ Dillashaw, Kyacey Uscola and the the rest of Team Alpha Male to get involved with helping out with saving Wrestling from being dropped? Faber’s Team Alpha Male influence(s) can have a huge impact with fundraising or somehow be involved with, spreading the word or bringing the awareness through advertisement (e.g., YouTube, Websites, etc.) to the public who are not too familiar with Wrestling’s struggle to “stay in business”. Because of Faber’s celebrity status and influence he has, he can help support and raise money than most would not be able to afford but would like to. Urijah has drawing power from seats in attendance at the Arco Arena to Pay-per-view(s) on television. I see why not. It is just an idea. What do I know? It is probably easier said than done, but it is worth a shot in attempt to bring public awareness to save Wrestling. By the way, this idea came from what I see Cal Poly’s Wrestling Alumnus, Chuck Liddell , Chad Mendez and others from the Mixed Martial Arts community are doing to save their program. I have some ideas and maybe I can talk to John Reynolds from the school paper and see what we can do. It’s just food for thought. Let us continue to have the opportunity for Wrestling in our California Colleges and one day, again, our Universities.
Semper Fidelis, R.T. Asuncion
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