By Ryan Wallace
Wrestling is a sport full of technical moves and mentally sharp athletes. And there’s no better place to find the tougher competitor than at the college ranks.
If you need any proof, just ask four area wrestlers who have all learned the tricks of the trade first-hand. Thomas and Samuel Fragoza of Valley Springs, T.J. Dillashaw of Angels Camp and Ryan Upchurch of Mokelumne Hill have all endured the physicality of the sport and they know the competition they’re facing is a good as it gets.
Samuel Fragoza, who graduated from Calaveras High in 2003, said the biggest thing he’s learned in his two years at Fresno State University is that there’s no such thing as blowing out your opponent.
“It’s just more intense, “Samuel said. “The whole way you look at the match is completely different. You’re not going to wipe the floor with these guys and winning by five or six points is a big deficit.”
For Samuel, who took seventh and fourth at the CIF state meet in his final two high school seasons and was the high school national champion in 2003, this past season also taught him a valuable lesson.
In his very first match at the 125-pound weight class, Samuel suffered a minor back injury. Instead of stopping after that match, he wrestled another match and his back worsened. Samuel said it was his natural instinct of never giving up which came back to haunt him.
Although there was no major damage done to his back, the injury forced him out for the remainder of the year.
“I needed to take a rest and I should have, “he said. “In college sports anything can happen. One injury could mean one season down the drain. You just count your losses and work on getting back to it.”
Samuel’s brother Thomas Fragoza has taken a lot from his experiences at the college ranks. Thomas, who graduated from Calaveras in 2001, saw limited action at Fresno State last year, going 2-2 overall, while wrestling behind a senior at the 133-pound division. Going into this year, Thomas was hopeful to see more action on the mat, but midway through the year he left the team to focus on other things.
Thomas said that he’s still considering coming back to the team for his final year, but he’s got other options as well.
Thomas, who is studying kinesiology, said that he’s also contemplating getting into a form of ultimate fighting or possibly becoming an athletic trainer. Thomas, who was a two-time state meet qualifier at Calaveras and compiled a 38-6 record as a senior, said the fighting he is considering is not the submission-style that former Calaveras graduate Jake Shields competes in.
Thomas said he has no regrets about how his career has or will turn out and he still owes a lot to the sport that got him where he is today.
“Training is like the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, “he said. “We have three practices a day n running, lifting and wrestling n it’s very, very demanding. You have to be dedicated.
“My work ethic is great and I’ve gotten a lot stronger.”
Thomas said the competition is like no other.
“College wrestling is like our professional level, “Thomas said. “There’s nothing really after this unlike baseball and football. And our training is right up there or even more than those sports.”
Thomas said ideally he’d like to stay connected with the sport and would really love to come back to Calaveras County and coach his alma mater.
Dillashaw went from the top of the food chain, to the very bottom and the adjustment was not easy. Dillashaw, who was a two-time CIF state meet qualifier and was state runner-up his last year, learned just like Samuel Fragoza did you’re not invincible. The Cal-State Fullerton freshman suffered an injury to his labrum, which required surgery. He missed the entire season and is hoping to get back into wrestling action by May.
“It was hard to watch my team from the exercise bike, “Dillashaw said. “I never even had a single injury in high school.”
Dillashaw, who graduated from Bret Harte in 2004, said he did notice the competition could be a little overwhelming, but being a competitor he’s looking forward to a bright career.
“I’m getting ready for training for next season and I want to be starting at 133 pounds, “he said. “My goal is to be Pac-10 champ.”
Dillashaw said in this sport you can never completely know it all, and that’s something he has been trying to convey to his younger brother Justin, who’s a freshman at Bret Harte and just completed a solid first year on the mat.
“I try to get back as much as I can and help my little brother, “he said. “The thing about the sport of wrestling is that you never stop learning.”
Calaveras wrestling coach Vince Bicocca knows exactly what the local wrestlers are experiencing. Bicocca wrestled at Chico State from 1970-74, after a successful high school career at Campbell High near San Jose.
Bicocca said that first year can be pretty rough.
“You’re pretty much the punching bag at the workouts, “Bicocca said. “High school matches are six minutes long, and when I wrestled in college we went eight minutes and 11 if it went to overtime. That’s tough to adjust to.”
Bicocca said he didn’t look at wrestling as a sport during his college years, but he still left feeling gratified with what he had accomplished and the experiences and friendships he developed.
“For me college wrestling was more like a job n it was difficult, “he said. “In high school you’re the best in the room and you can beat up on everybody else. In college it’s a whole other story.
“They take their lumps. A lot don’t continue to do it after one year. But it was a great experience and playing collegiate athletics was a wonderful experience.”
Contact Ryan Wallace at [email protected].
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