BHS wrestlers set the example for younger brothers
| Thursday, Mar 05 2009 02:34 AM
Last Updated Wednesday, Mar 25 2009 06:17 PM
Images
Jonah Cruz of BHS hangs on early against Nicholas Sierra of Lemoore during CIF Central Section Grand Masters Tournament at East High. Cruz is one of several Drillers wrestlers with a younger brother aspiring to follow in his footsteps to the state tournament.
When Bakersfield High wrestler Jonah Cruz takes the mat Friday morning in the CIF State Wrestling Championships at Rabobank Arena, he'll be studied very closely.
So will Jose Ramirez. So, too, will Bryce Hammond.
Not by everyone or as some kind of science experiment, mind you. Just by their little brothers in the stands, hoping that next year or the year after, they'll be the Cruz or the Ramirez or the Hammond making state-wide waves.
"It's great when they're brothers," Bakersfield High coach Andy Varner said. "They beat up on each other, and the little brothers are bound to be tough. It's exciting, and their parents, all of them great, which makes things even better."
For Jonah, who's at 140 pounds, it's 119-pound freshman Micah Cruz. For Ramirez, it's 125-pound frosh Maxx Ramirez. Bryce's brother, Coleman, is an eighth grader having a lot of success on the youth level.
"He probably has a shot, as a freshman, to win (state)," Bryce Hammond said of Coleman. "We're probably going to be workout partners. It's nice, because he looks at wrestling the same way I do; he enjoys the technical side of it."
So what does it do for the team? Well, it ensures that another stud wrestler will be coming through the doors at BHS in the near future, one with experience and moxie and the knowledge of what it takes to get to state and beyond.
It's also an extra coach in the stands. Take BHS 112-pounder Natrelle Demison, a state qualifier as a freshman who can bounce ideas or concerns off of his brother, Nektoe Demison, who placed third in the 2007 state championship and will be watching from the Rabobank stands this weekend.
"I'm fulfilling (his legacy)," Natrelle Demison. "He told me just to wrestle, just like my coaches are telling me."
Not at this state tournament but perhaps coming in the future are Hammond's eighth-grade brother, plus Silas Nacita, whose older brother Elijah won a 2006 state championship and a Pac-10 Conference championship last weekend at the college level. Nacita wrestled 135 pounds for the Drillers this year. 145-pound qualifier Adam Fierro also has a brother who'll be a freshman next year.
That future certainly looks good, but the Drillers are hoping all of this brotherly love pays off in the form of a high team finish this weekend. They won state titles in 2002 and 2004 and became accustomed to top-five finishes, but slipped to 15th last year with just two placers -- since-graduated Travis Rasmussen, who placed second, and Jonah Cruz, who was seventh.
But this year's team hung with state favorites Clovis and Clovis-Buchanan at last week's Central Section Grand Masters, so it might be better suited to place high. Varner said all seven qualifiers could be placers, which would in turn help the team standings.
"That's the good thing about this time of year: Anything can happen," Varner said. "I think all seven have a legitimate shot of getting to that podium."
Jonah Cruz, Bryce Hammond and Maxx Ramirez, along with 215-pounder Brian Schoene, are considered contenders to reach or win their brackets' state championship. If they do, you can bet little brother will be watching.
"It kind of makes you more accountable," Jonah Cruz said. "You've got to be more accountable and a better leader. You've got to leave something behind for him to fill into."
