Pacifico GarciaGarcia began wrestling when he was 10 years old. He went out for wrestling because at the time it was the only sport in which he could participate. He wasn't old enough to play football or other contact sports. Wrestling was his only option.
"When I first started, I ended up beating a sixth grader, which really fired me up," recalled Garcia. "I was like, 'All right, let's do this.' I really enjoyed it, so I just kept on doing it."
But if it wasn't for his high school wrestling coach, Steve Tirapelle, Garcia might not have accomplished as much as he has. The two entered Clovis High School the same year. Coach Tirapelle came to Clovis from its rival school, Buchanan, when Garcia was a freshman.
"Pacifico told me a few years later, he said, 'Coach, we really didn't like you,' recalled Tirapelle. "I was like, no, no. He said, 'No, really, we hated you when you first came to Clovis.' And I was like, no, no, you didn't hate me. You just didn't know who I was. He said, 'No, you don't understand, we hated you. Our parents hated you. Everybody hated you.' I was kind of blown away by it."
But soon, very soon, things changed. The wrestlers and parents bought into everything Tirapelle preached and coached. They loved him. When Garcia was competing in the lineup, Clovis dominated their section and placed in the top five at the state tournament three years in a row. The program became a factory for producing collegiate wrestlers. Most notably, though, were the coach's sons, Alex and Troy Tirapelle (the oldest brother, Adam, wrestled for Hiram Johnson and Buchanan), who both went on to wrestle at the University of Illinois.
Garcia and Alex, who were the same year in school, became close friends on and off the mat. They wrestled together, ran together, and lifted weights together.
"As far as Alex's leadership and his lifestyle, I tried to mimic it," said Garcia. "I knew that he was successful in school and in wrestling, so that's what I wanted. I wanted to be successful in both of those things too. Our relationship developed to the point where we became really good friends."
Although Garcia wasn't one of the nation's top wrestlers (like Alex was), he still saw great success on the mat. As a junior, he qualified for the state tournament, but missed placing by one match. He was knocked out of the tournament after getting caught in a Peterson roll with 15 seconds left in the match, eventually losing in overtime.
As a high school senior in 2001, Garcia entered the state tournament ranked seventh. He finished runner-up at 135 pounds in the one-class California State Tournament, losing in the state finals to Juan Mora, a wrestler he had previously beaten.
"Before his finals match, I said, 'Whatever you do, don't let this kid inside leg trip you,'" recalled Tirapelle. "'That's his move. If he gets you there, you're in trouble.' Right away, in the beginning of the match, the kid inside leg tripped him and he got down by five, which really put him in a bad spot. I felt he was better than the kid. Not that the other kid wasn't good, he was a very good wrestler, but we had beaten him earlier in a close match. I think just walking out there in front of that many people, it kind of got to him a little bit. He got a little nervous. It's pretty hard to walk out there when you have never been on the victory stand before."
Garcia, being a one-time state place winner, wasn't heavily recruited.
"I got maybe a letter from Cal Poly and UC Davis because I showed some interest in them, so they showed some interest back," said Garcia. "But then it died out."
It was a chance encounter at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois between San Francisco State head coach Lars Jensen and Tirapelle that would eventually bring Garcia to San Francisco State. Tirapelle thought that Garcia would be a perfect fit in the program.
"Lars needed a guy," said Tirapelle. "I thought physically he would fit in there well. I thought he would have an impact right way. And I also thought he would have a good chance at succeeding in school."
Pacifico GarciaGarcia redshirted his first season at San Francisco State and wrestled two open tournaments at 141 pounds. He placed fourth at Southern Oregon and third at UC Davis. But according to Jensen, "He was going toe-to-toe with All-Americans in the practice room right off the bat."
The next season as a redshirt freshman, Pacifico compiled a 20-20 record while wrestling at 141. It was a season of ups and downs. He would beat a good wrestler one week, then turn around and lose to a mediocre wrestler the next week. But he wrestled well when it mattered most and became an All-American by placing seventh at the NCAA Division II Championships.
Garcia's sophomore year was marred by injuries and disappointments.
"It was a long season," said Garcia of his sophomore campaign. "It was hard for me. I sprained my ankle pretty bad. Toward the end of the season, I was trying to keep my weight down. At 141, I was cutting a lot of weight. My ankle kept re-aggravating itself. It was a lot more than wrestling that was involved. As far as being one-hundred percent physically, mentally, and emotionally, I just wasn't there. And it showed."
Garcia was shutout, 6-0, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Championships by defending national champion Merrick Meyer of Truman State. He then lost his first consolation match and was two and out.
He made the decision to move up to wrestle 149 for his junior season. One of his teammates at the time, Donald Lockett, a two-time All-American (and now an assistant coach), moved up from 133 and took over at 141.
Pacifico Garcia defeated Jason Rhoten of Minnesota State-Mankato to win the 149-pound NCAA title (photo by Johnnie Johnson)He uses the words "boring" and "strategic" when describing his finals match, and believes he won the match because he "out-strategized" Rhoten.
Now Garcia has his sights set on becoming only the second two-time NCAA champion at San Francisco State (Mauricio Wright won titles in 2002 and 2003). But a few setbacks have kept him off the mat so far this season. Earlier this season, he and one of his teammates clashed knees while wrestling in practice, which resulted in a contusion and kept him out of the Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 19. He made his season debut against Stanford on Nov. 22, but broke his nose in the first 30 seconds of the match. He is hoping to be back for the dual on Friday against UC Davis.
One event in particular that he's looking forward to this season is the Midlands, which takes place in Evanston, Illinois on Dec. 29-30. It's considered one of the toughest collegiate tournaments in the country. For Garcia, it's a chance to test himself against top Division I wrestlers. Last season, he went 1-2 at the Midlands and failed to place.
"I'm always thrilled to wrestle at the Midlands and see the best competition," said Garcia. "It's cool. The atmosphere is great. You get to wrestle the best guys in the country, so you get to push yourself and have the opportunity to be known, see where you stand, and figure what you need to work on. It really prepares us for the end of the year."
Garcia is on track to graduate this spring with a degree in liberal studies. His immediate plans are to teach and coach wrestling at a school in California.
His high school coach believes that he'll make a positive impact as a coach.
"He'll be an excellent coach," said Tirapelle. "What a great kid he is. He has shown that if you have some desires and want to do things, you can do them. You can do a lot of things if you're willing to pay the price. He wasn't a student when he first started high school. He just didn't care for it that much. It wasn't that big of a deal. Other things were more important to him at the time. But he realized he could do certain things and still be good student. He'll have a tremendous impact. He's really good with kids. He's very conscientious and responsible. He'll be a great coach."
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