His second chance to earn first place
| Friday, Apr 03 2009 09:31 PM
Last Updated Friday, Apr 03 2009 09:31 PM
Images
Centennial wrestler Seth Hicks
There were times during his junior wrestling season that Centennial's Seth Hicks was so tired and sore he couldn't practice.
When he finally got the chance, he didn't waste any time. Now he's a state champion -- and The Californian's All-Area Wrestler of the Year.
That was a no-brainer after Hicks finished his career with a 48-0 season that culminated with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over Poway's Conrad Snell in the 135-pound state championship last month at Rabobank Arena. But that moment was a far cry from reality a year ago, when Hicks had to pull himself out of the state tournament after a bout with a mysterious illness.
"He has a genetic disorder, an auto-inflammatory disorder," said Mike Hicks, Seth's dad and Centennial's coach. "It's not a life-threatening thing; it's like arthritis except with soft tissue, not the bone. There were points last year where it hurt so much he couldn't do a push-up."
Seth Hicks also remembers sitting out a full week of practice because of fatigue. The worst part, though, was the unknown.
"We went through about seven doctors," Mike Hicks said. "Finally, a children's hospital in Madera was able to say this is what he had. It was a huge relief knowing he didn't have ... leukemia or lupus or something."
The illness did derail Hicks' state-tournament run as a junior. He beat state No. 2 Cody Bollinger of Hesperia-Sultana in the first round but hyper-extended his elbow in the process. The auto-inflammatory condition caused the injury to balloon, and, after he tried to wrestle one more match, Hicks had to default out of the tournament.
But that experience -- first proving to himself that he could hang with the state's top wrestlers and then getting his chance taken away -- lit a fire under Hicks.
"During the summer, I did the normal things I do, but a couple weeks before school started, I was like, 'It's got to be something different this year,'" Seth Hicks said. "It just clicked. I started training early, getting up, running in the morning."
Hicks, who's been mostly pain-free since he started taking medication for his condition, also credits former Cal State Bakersfield wrestler Jeremy Doyle with raising the intensity in his workouts.
The results were immediate and incredible. Hicks, who wrestled 140 pounds last year, was easily able to drop to 135 early in the year. He won prestigious titles at the North Torrance Tournament of Champions and the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis.
"The first couple of tournaments, I actually thought it was going to be a rough year," Seth Hicks said. "But when I was able to drop down to 35s, it was like I started handling the guys instead of being handled by them. I won the North Torrance and the Doc B, and it was like, 'This seems doable.'"
With his long limbs and variety of skilled moves that he could use at any time, Hicks mowed through SWYL competition, then the first part of the always-tough Yosemite Divisional before meeting Clovis' Alec Dieter in the championship.
Kelley took him down to start the match -- the first time Hicks had been down all year -- but Hicks stayed calm and rebounded with a second-period comeback.
Two weeks later, at state, he faced the same predicament against Snell, a stout 135-pounder who flattened Hicks when the Centennial senior tried to shoot and spun around him for a takedown.
"I was so excited I couldn't stand still," Mike Hicks said. "But at that point, I knew (Snell) was gonna score, and I had my doubts."
Hicks was still behind into the third period with about 30 seconds left when he turned around the match and won the title with the rarest of moves, a granby from standing position. The granby is a roll-through with one arm and one leg secured that's almost always done from bottom position.
An instinctual move from a wrestler who has had his back against the wall in many different ways during his career. And, once again, he came through in a big way.
"It's vivid in my mind," Seth Hicks said. "I remember every match pretty well."
