Wrestling is the toughest sport that I’ve ever participated in and one that I fell in love with. What I loved about wrestling was that during a match it was just me against my opponent, and winning or losing was only tied to myself. Of course, there were many moments that I didn’t admire wrestling. During every practice I always had to overcome a moment when I just wanted to quit because the physical demands of the sport are so great. But I never quit until I found out that Fresno State had dropped it’s wrestling program in 2006 and my goal to wrestle in college disappeared. With the wrestling program cut, the creation and rise of the Fresno State Wrestling Club was possible.
The Fresno State Wrestling Club was created in the months of Fall 2013 and that was just the beginning of a path to success. The purpose of the club is to provide students with the opportunity to compete as a wrestler at the college level and to provide a learning facility to explore the basics of wrestling for beginners. Further, the club looks to instill the desire for self-improvement, scholastic excellence and the cultivation of civic duty in its wrestlers. The club started as a humble means for students who loved wrestling to join other like minded individuals as a community. But within the next few years this wrestling club would qualify to compete in national competitions and produce two All-American wrestlers.
Within just two seasons the wrestling club was able to produce a team that was capable of competing with other nationally ranked wrestlers. Although this was a group effort, the 2015/2016 president of the club, Omar Benavides had much to do with guiding the club to this success. As a fellow Brother of Omar in the fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, I’ve witnessed firsthand all the effort and hard work that he put into making the wrestling club what it is today. Omar Benavides started with guiding recruiting efforts for the club which helped double the amount of active members. One of his biggest accomplishments for the club was securing a location to host practices for his wrestlers when Fresno State was unwilling to let the club utilize their mat rooms. There is nothing that Omar won’t do for his fellow wrestlers through facilitating practices to bringing in guest coaches to help his wrestlers improve their technique. With Omar Benavides the wrestling club might not be what it is today.
Fresno State has had a long-term plan of returning the wrestling program but the goal of the wrestling club was to get current Bulldogs back on the mats now. Many of the current wrestlers don’t fit within the timeline of Fresno State to be a part of the wrestling program so the club is a great opportunity for students to do what they love and compete collegiately. Omar said that “we’re just your average Joe’s who love wrestling and want to have fun”. Although the Fresno State Wrestling Club is a separate entity from the NCAA they do support the return of wrestling to the campus as a Division 1 program. But if you would like to support the wrestling club they would welcome any donations because they have little support from outside groups such as sponsors with most expenses coming out of the pockets of member and their families. I’m interested in joining the club and I’d encourage anyone who loves wrestling to also become apart of it to have fun and possibly compete on a national stage.
