Travis Chipman graduated from Mountain View in 1990, is an assistant wrestling coach at the school and is now the namesake for one of the larger scholarship funds in the area — Travis Chipman Wrestling Scholarship fund.
“To have such a big thing with my name on it is a humbling experience, “Chipman said. “I’m riding everybody else’s coattails.”
Chipman was selected by a board of trustees to carry the name. Fund organizer Pedro Peraza knew Chipman through watching his son, Matt Peraza, compete for the Thunder. Matt Peraza qualified for the 2005 state tournament at 171 pounds.
“Travis embodied everything we wanted, “Pedro Peraza said. “He’s a fireman, has a little kids wrestling program and helps out at the high school level. He is someone who is passionate about the children and wants them to move forward.
“When my son qualified for state, he and Travis hugged and it wasn’t about winning at wrestling. It was about winning at life.”
While the scholarship fund was created to benefit graduating seniors, Mountain View may have stumbled on a great recruiting tool, or at least an idea sure to spawn copycats.
“As cool as it sounds, that’s not the payoff we were looking for, “Pedro Peraza said. “This isn’t about helping the Mountain View wrestling program. If that happens, great. But schools are getting more expensive and we want kids to go to college.”
Of course, parents still may decide to send their kids to Mountain View in pursuit of money.
Thunder head coach Dave Brame hopes parents won’t do that.
“High school is about the education, “he said.
Besides, such a strategy would be unwise, according to former wrestler Koroush Zamanizadeh. He wrestled four years for the Thunder and received $12,000 from the scholarship fund.
“You shouldn’t do a sport for the money, “he said. “I don’t think most guys could make it through a few practices if they didn’t love wrestling. “– Brad McCray
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