Hours of hard work, long practices and intense pressure paid off as junior Marius Garcia won the wrestling state championship for the 106-pound weight class March 10.
Following an early exit from the tournament last year, Garcia explained he had a comeback with an undefeated 51-0 season, which is a new school record.
States weekend was March 8-10 and took place in The Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center, Garcia said.
“The strategy going in was mostly just to do what I’ve done the whole year,” he said. “At first I was a little nervous, but once I got out there, the nerves went away.”
Garcia had already beaten his first opponent the week prior and said he felt his dedication was finally paying off.
“This year I started to know what I individually was good at and what I wanted to do rather than just simply wrestling,” he explained.
Marius Garcia’s father and assistant wrestling coach Zander Garcia said Marius spent two years becoming laser-focused on mastering the sport. By the beginning of this season, he was confident Marius was one of the top wrestlers in the state, he added.
“Watching Marius transform himself into who he is today has been amazing,” Zander Garcia said. “The coach-son relationship can be tricky, but very early on I was committed to avoiding an unhealthy dynamic.”
Marius Garcia explained he began wrestling at 4 years old and was inspired by his father, who wrestled at Columbus Academy. His dad was a state champion and went on to wrestle at the Naval Academy, he added.
“He never talked to me about how he was a state champion, and I need to be one, too,” Garcia said. “It was more just about me and what I wanted to do with wrestling. We’ve been doing this together the whole time, and he was a huge part of it.”
Head wrestling coach Chris Bragg said Garcia rarely takes breaks and goes the extra mile every practice, exceeding everyone’s expectations.
“He’s perfected his craft and technique when it comes to the sport, and you don’t get to where he is now without that,” Bragg explained. “Marius is like nobody I’ve ever coached.”
Bragg said Garcia was elected captain this year and has become a more vocal leader. His teammates see how hard he works, and that carries through to everybody else, he added.
“He is willing to do whatever it takes to be the best, and I think he was a big reason they had success this year along with other teammates,” Bragg explained. “Watching Marius transform himself into who he is today has been amazing.”
He said Garcia is the first state wrestling champion from Bexley in 39 years. He feels fortunate to have coached such a special team in such a special community but said this season can be built upon in the future.
“It was always a goal to win a state championship,” Bragg explained. “It can only do good for us, and it builds around the program.”
Zander said he couldn’t believe how many people helped Marius achieve one individual state championship at a non-traditional wrestling school.
“We are so grateful to the whole community of coaches, family, staff, training patterns and teammates that helped him,” he said.
Garcia said his family supported him throughout the entire season and helped him with one of the hardest parts of this season, which was having to cut weight over the past summer.
When it’s done right, it isn’t hard, but it can become mentally draining, he added.
“It’s not always going to happen when you want it to happen,” he explained. “If I had it my way I would’ve won every year, but it’s not always going to work out like it does for everybody else. You just have to keep going and working hard.”
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