Wrestling: Highland Park’s Garcia-Galvan claims regional crown
By jon kerr Contributor February 7, 2012 8:26PM
Proud moment: Highland Park's Brandon Garcia-Galvan wins the 126-pound championship in Saturday's regional at Stevenson High School. | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 10, 2012 8:25AM
Bloodlines can be a powerful catalyst, providing a certain genetic edge for athletes.
Case in point: Highland Park wrestler Brandon Garcia-Galvan. A 126-pound sophomore, Garcia-Galvan comes from a long line of wrestlers. His uncles, Sam and Galo, were both state-meet qualifiers in the 1980s. During Saturday’s Stevenson Regional, the current generation of Galvans began to uphold the family legacy.
Garcia-Galvan made quite an initial footprint by winning a regional title. He capped a three-victory day with a 3-0 decision over Lake Zurich’s Michael Peters in the finals. A 7-5 overtime decision over top-seeded Kevin Conrad of Barrington sprung Garcia-Galvan into the championship match.
“My uncles were successful wrestlers and I think I can follow in their footsteps,” Garcia-Galvan said.
His title run was one of the most unexpected results of the regional. But not when you learn Garcia-Galvan’s story. He was 36-0 on the freshman level, rolling through overmatched competition. Stuck behind State qualifier Ben Schwartz, he got a small taste of varsity wrestling, enough to launch him into a whirlwind offseason.
“I worked my butt off, lifted weights and ran any time I could,” said Garcia-Galvan, who participated in a Northwestern University camp last summer. “I got to wrestle with some of the top guys in the state. I got 50 offseason matches in.”
Injuries and illness limited him most of this season, and he entered the regional as a classic fly-under-the-radar wrestler. It was never a matter of ability for Garcia-Galvan, always opportunity.
“He has so much untapped potential — super athletic with a great motor,” said Highland Park coach Chris Riley. “I’m real excited about the future for him.”
As he stood at the podium — his name announced as a champion — the future is now for Garcia-Galvan. With his mother, Gonzala, and father, Luis, proudly looking on, the past and present were all represented for a family with wrestling in its blood.
“It means everything. They didn’t expect me to finish first,” said the younger Garcia-Galvan. “But they always believed in me. They always knew I was good enough to beat those guys.”
When you understand where Brandon Garcia-Galvan comes from, it’s no surprise he did.
Recap: Highland Park posted a seventh-place finish (66 points) at the Stevenson Regional.
A total of three Giants advanced to sectionals. Nate Kessler made the cut with a second-place finish at 113. The junior scored one of his biggest victories of the season when he defeated Deerfield’s Keven Hoogheem 11-6 to reach the title match.
“He didn’t make it out of the sectional last year,” Riley said. “He spent a lot of time doing the extra work you need to get to the next level and beat someone like (Hoogheem).”
Dom Ciancio was Highland Park’s other sectional qualifier, finishing third at 138. After losing his first bout, Ciancio rebounded with three wins in the wrestlebacks, capped by a 7-4 decision over Buffalo Grove’s Bryan Wellbank to secure a sectional trip.
“He’s making some big strides,” Riley said. “He beat a kid (Deerfield’s Brian McCann) he lost to twice this season.”
The Giants’ other medalist was Danny Cohen, who finished fourth at 152.
“I thought we wrestled to our potential,” Riley said. “We could have come out of here with nobody. To have three guys out, and four going in the last round, I felt good about it. I think the kids do, too.”
On the schedule: Highland Park’s qualifiers will compete in the Barrington Sectional on Friday and Saturday.
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