by Trevor Pyle
Derek Garcia earned his third individual state championship in wrestling during his junior year.
SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Whether he’s trying to run over a defender for the Sedro-Woolley football team or finish a perfect season for the wrestling team, Derek Garcia likes to face challenges head-on.
For much of the spring and summer, he’s taken on a sizable one, training with some of the best wrestlers in the world at the U.S. Olympic Training center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
For his nationally recognized skills in wrestling and his gem of a season for the resurgent Sedro-Woolley football team, Garcia has been named the Skagit Valley Herald Male Athlete of the Year.
For the past few months, Garcia has been a resident at the Olympic Training Center, where his coaches and opponents include world and Olympic champions.
“I’ve got to wrestle best guys in nation and it’s awesome. God has blessed me,” Garcia said.
He plans to return to the center to train for at least a year after his senior year at Sedro-Woolley.
“I’m so much better. It’s not comparable — getting to live out here, train every day. (The coaches) even tell me how much better I’m getting,” he said. “It’s pretty awesome to hear that from guys like that.”
Garcia’s training follows a memorable year of prep sports for his junior year.
He played quarterback for the football team and helped lead the Cubs to the state playoffs.
Then he won his third straight individual state title in wrestling.
In football, Garcia was fourth in the area in rushing with 965 yards and threw for 803; he ran for 15 touchdowns and threw three.
The Cubs beat Everett in the postseason for a state berth before smacking up against Bellevue, the eventual Class 3A state champion, in a 42-10 loss.
Garcia said it was special to be part of that team.
“Growing up, we had thoughts of being that team. We planned on being that team ... it coming into play was great,” he said.
Garcia remained on a roll in the winter, claiming the state Class 3A title at 152 pounds in an efficient stint at state.
He needed just 4 minutes, 57 seconds in four matches to win the title.
He was one of three Cubs to win individual titles that season, joining Cody Pohren and Shane Hunt.
Garcia said it was great to be part of that group, especially since it included Pohren, a close friend.
“That was probably one of highlights of last year,” he said. “We’ve been friends since we were kids. For both of us to win was awesome.”
Next season, he could become just the sixth four-time state wrestling champion in state history.
Sedro-Woolley wrestling coach Jay Breckenridge said Garcia’s training at the Olympic Center will help.
“I’m not saying he wasn’t mature, but the way he carries himself and talks, he has grown up tremendously. He knows what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. The maturity — I noticed it right away,” Breckenridge said after a recent visit with Garcia. “He’s become an example for the whole state that you can achieve a goal of this level if you dedicate yourself to it and do the work.”
• Trevor Pyle can be reached at 360-416-2156 or by e-mail at .
