It took a little bit for Janida Garcia to catch a groove this season. And now that she has, there’s likely no stopping her.
Garcia is a favorite in the 145-pound bracket at this weekend’s CHSAA state tournament at Ball Arena, where the Discovery Canyon senior is the highest-ranked girls competitor per FloWrestling’s pound-for-pound rankings. Janida is No. 12 nationally.
But this CHSAA season, Garcia had to overcome early adversity. She didn’t compete for the first month-plus as she adjusted to her move from California, where she focused on hoops over wrestling as a junior, and got her eligibility in order.
“I had to get my grades up, and I was adjusting to the move from California,” Garcia said. “My coaches were on me to get it together, because they knew what I could accomplish when I did.”
Garcia attends school online through Springs Studio, giving her more time to travel to compete in tournaments with Betterman Elite Wrestling Club and work on her craft at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
She said being able to consistently train at the O.T.C. was a reason for her move to Colorado, as Garcia is planning to dive deeper into the Greco-Roman part of the sport after her high school career ends. Garcia’s notable tournament wins include Fargo Nationals and Who’s #1, which she won last September, and she expects to be on top of the podium Saturday.
She currently has college offers from Tiffin University, Iowa Wesleyan and Missouri Baptist, and pinned her opponent in 44 seconds in her state tournament debut Thursday. At 12-0 on the season, Garcia will wrestle Greeley West’s Dora Dickinson in the quarterfinals on Friday.
“Now that my focus is full-on on wrestling, I know there’s a lot more I can achieve,” Garcia said.
Garcia is one of two Colorado girls wrestlers ranked in FloWrestling’s pound-for-pound national rankings, as Pomona junior Persaeus Gomez is No. 20.
Bear Creek’s motivation: Bear Creek’s DaMarri Russell wasn’t on the mat long Thursday, dispatching Taylor Graff of Thompson Valley in 20 seconds on a fall to open his weekend within the 215-pound bracket in Class 4A.
But teammate Markus Martinez wasn’t far from his mind while he was out there.
“I’ve known Marcus since I was in sixth grade,” Russell said of Martinez, a senior Bear Creek wrestler who’d left the team after suffering a major heart attack last November, not long after in-season practice got underway. “He was always just like a role model for everyone, because he was just an outgoing guy and everyone looked up to him and it was just like heartbreaking to see him go through what he did.”
Quests for the three-peat: Only Loveland senior Morgan Johnson is going for the four-peat at this year’s tournament, but six juniors (four boys and two girls) entered Ball Arena on Thursday looking for a third title.
All six of those wrestlers won, moving on to Friday’s quarterfinals.
Buena Vista’s Caleb Camp (Class 2A 126) advanced via first-period pin, while in Class 3A, Fort Lupton’s D’mitri Garza-Alarcon also won by first-period pin and Mullen’s Dale O’Bila won by second-period pin at 113. In Class 4A, Thompson Valley’s Jackson Rairdon won by second-period pin. And on the girls side, Pomona’s Gomez (120) and Calhan’s Ciara Monger (235) both won by first-period pin.
Team scores entering Day 2: At the end of the first day of wrestling, team leaders are: Wray in Class 2A, Eaton in Class 3A, Pueblo East in Class 4A and Pomona in Class 5A. In other words: the usual suspects. Meanwhile, Discovery Canyon has a narrow lead over Chatfield in the girls title chase.
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