Gary was born in Acapulco, Mexico, where he lived with his aunt until he was 2 years old. When he was 2, he moved to Santa Ana to be with his mother, stepfather, and stepbrother.
Gary AyonWhen Gary was in fifth grade, his stepfather was deported, so the family moved back to Acapulco where Gary stayed for almost two years. But after his stepfather cheated on Gary's mother, and continued to physically abuse her, she and Gary left Acapulco (and the stepfather) ... and headed back to Santa Ana. However, Gary and his mother encountered problems crossing the border and were forced to say in Tijuana for a year.
Gary and his mother moved from place to place in Tijuana as they struggled financially to make ends meet. They even snuck into an abandoned house and lived there for a while.
"We were having a really hard time coming up with rent money and there weren't a lot of places that would accept us," recalled Gary. One of my mom's friends found out about this abandoned house, so we just lived there."
One of Gary's mother's friends had a son who was the same age as Gary, so they used his birth certificate to get help Gary across the border and get back to Santa Ana. Gary's mother stayed in Tijuana.
"My mom wanted me to get an education," said Gary. "I wasn't studying in Tijuana. I was just working, so she sent me over here so that I would have more of a chance to succeed."
Gary's mother put him on a train and sent him to Santa Ana to live with family friends. Gary arrived in Santa Ana with a small backpack that included just a few shirts and some underwear.
Gary attended Century High School as a freshman. He lived in a small, one-bedroom apartment with a family that was comprised of a mother and her boyfriend, along with their two children. And he slept on the floor. He talked to his mother (who remained in Tijuana) on the phone about once a month, sometimes less.
"There was a period when she wouldn't call me, because she was having some difficulties of her own," said Gary. "Over there, she'd call from the telephone booth, which cost about a dollar per minute."
Toward the end of Gary's freshman year, when he was walking home from school one day, he bumped into one of his mother's close friends, who offered to take him into their home. So Gary moved in with the Papias family, who had two sons, Efren and David, who wrestled on the Santa Ana High School team. Efren and David convinced Gary come out for the wrestling team.
Recalled Gary, "They were like, 'Oh, you should definitely come out for wrestling. You'll like it.'"
They were wrong.
Gary hated wrestling when he first started. The only reason he was in it was to make friends. As a sophomore, he competed on the junior varsity team for Santa Ana High and lost almost every match he wrestled.
Scott GlabbGlabb, who took over a struggling Santa Ana program in 1990, is one of the most widely respected high school wrestling coaches in the state of California. He has touched numerous young lives throughout his coaching and teaching career. In 1993, he led the Saints to their first league championship then to another twelve straight league titles. In 1999, he guided the Saints to a fourth-place finish in the California State Championships. He has compiled a career dual meet record of 256-49.
Glabb encouraged Gary to wrestle that spring for Santa Ana's freestyle club: The Wolfpack. The more time Gary spent with his teammates and around the sport, the more he enjoyed it.
"(Wrestling) was sort of like therapy for me," said Gary. "It would help me forget about my problems. The wrestling team became like a family to me. It gave me a reason to keep my grades up and not fail classes. It just gave me more confidence in myself. I saw myself from a difference perspective. It really helped me build my self-esteem."
As a high school junior, Gary improved his record on the junior varsity. He also wrestled sparingly with the varsity team. He traveled with the team to a tournament in Washington, which was the first time he had traveled outside of California (besides Mexico).
Gary also got involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
"That had a great impact on my life because I accepted God," said Gary. "It made me feel more secure and also made me realize that I always have somebody who loves me. Just knowing that He gave his life for me, it really opened my eyes. Every time I feel depressed, I would think about it ... and it would make me happy."
As a senior, Gary was the 160-pound varsity starter the entire season. And although he came up just short of his wrestling goals, it was still a successful season. He won numerous big matches for the Saints. The team took a trip to Nevada to wrestle in a tournament, where Gary went undefeated, which included a victory over the No. 1 seed in his weight class, a wrestler who had placed third in the Nevada State High School Wrestling Championships the previous season.
More importantly, though, Gary passed all of his classes and earned his high school diploma in June.
"We were worried that he might not graduate, because he had some really down days when he just wanted to give up and not go on anymore," said Glabb. So we just had to keep encouraging him. With the help from the coaches and people on staff, we got him through."
He was also one of the most popular students in the school.
"Everybody really liked Gary," said Glabb. "It's funny, all the principals knew him. It seems like everybody knew Gary ... and we have four thousand kids at that school. He's really well liked. Everybody's pulling for him."
Growing up, Gary never gave the possibility of going to college a second thought. After all, he didn't have the money or the legal documents needed to enroll.
But with the help of Glabb and Santa Ana College assistant coach Jed Clark, Gary was able to enroll at Santa Ana College and join the wrestling team.
Although Gary has spent fourteen years in the United States, he's not a United States citizen. However, he's currently in the process of trying to gain his citizenship. The process, though, could take up to a few years to complete because it involves numerous steps, including obtaining his birth certificate in Acapulco.
Due to the fact that he doesn't have any paperwork, he does not qualify for any type of financial aid at Santa Ana College. Glabb has offered to help Gary with tuition costs and anything else he needs, as long as he continues to wrestle and work hard on his academics.
Gary is currently taking three classes at Santa Ana College: criminal justice, math, and health. He spends much of his time in the school's library (because he can't afford to purchase text books) and in the wrestling room.
He has been wrestling with the team since practice began in late August. He was planning on redshirting this season, but because of an unforeseen eligibility technicality with the returning 165-pound starter, Gary was thrust into the starting lineup at 165.
Vince SilvaGary wrestled in his first collegiate competition on Sept. 16 at the Mt. San Antonio dual meet tournament. Although he dropped four matches, Silva saw some positives in his performance.
"He showed some potential with regards how he came back at the end in two of the matches and kept from getting pinned," said Silva. "We were desperately needing not to give up a fall at that weight class and he avoided giving up the fall on two occasions against formidable opponents. He's a young guy and he's filling the void right now. We're going to have to focus on him and continue to try to develop him."
But regardless of what Gary's wrestling future holds, he has already overcome extraordinary odds to arrive in the place he finds himself now.
"I'm pretty proud of him because he could have just fallen into that whole thing of doing drugs, drinking, and just hanging out, like a lot of kids do," said Glabb. "He could have dropped out of school. He didn't think he was going to graduate from high school. He's often asked me, 'Why am I doing this? I don't have a future. I don't have my papers. What am I doing?' And it kind of wears on you on a little bit. You feel sorry for him because he's such a great kid who works really hard and does everything he's supposed to be doing. He's kind of an inspiration to me."
And an inspiration to many.
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