PAGE A12, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 6, 2015
ALVARO,
continued from Page A10
(Jimenez) took me to dinner
that night and told me to stick
it out. The next day I took part
in a cadet tournament and
placed third. I was still a chunky
220, but the muscle had started
forming and I thought maybe I
could do something with this,”
Venegas said.
Ebbs kept an eye on Ven-
egas’ development in the fol-
lowing months, particularly
when he needed a shot of
confidence.
“When we sent him to the
district tournament and we
told him, ‘You are going to
state if you perform.’ He did
not believe it until he found
himself wrestling in the third
place match and having al-
ready qualified for state,” Ebbs
said.
The confidence gained
there carried over to the next
season.
“I went into junior year and
suddenly my body just started
falling off. I was working out
twice a day. I was wrestling
with Zach and he’s a competi-
tive guy. I was eating a lot and
still dropping weight,” Venegas
said.
When the Classic rolled
around again, Venegas weighed
202 and Ebbs approached him
about cutting to 199 since
there was a four-pound vari-
ance according to the rules of
the Classic.
“The night before the tour-
nament, the other guys on the
team had me and Taran (Pur-
key) in layers of sweats and
we had to tag every other
team member. I wasn’t eating
or drinking and I lost like 12
pounds that night. Woke up
the next day and wrestled like
crap,” he said. “I didn’t win
a match and messed up my
shoulder.”
By the time Venegas began
his senior year, he was a lean
and muscled 195. He’s started
running twice a day and joined
the cross country team with
some coercion from wrestling
teammate Riley Repp.
As he began racking up
wins, the sky didn’t even seem
like a limit. He was only pinned
once and was soon leading
state rankings. He capped the
Greater Valley Conference sea-
son with a district title despite
suffering a dislocated shoulder
in the finals match.
A week prior, Venegas was
joined by his mother on the
mat for Senior Night. She’s
been mostly wheelchair-
bound for the past three years
after a diagnosis with multiple
sclerosis eight years ago.
“I just try to do as much as
I can when I can. My goal is to
do more now that my sched-
ule isn’t as weird with wres-
tling,” Venegas said.
Despite her illness, Venegas
said his mother still insists on
cooking dinner even if her
sons need to help her.
“It’s one of the reasons I’m
scared to leave for college. I
will do more now, but I feel
the responsibility to her,” he
said.
Venegas would like to go
to Clackamas Community
College, home to a power-
house wrestling squad, where
he might get more looks from
four-year colleges and univer-
sities.
“I’m not quite ready to
hang up the towel yet. I would
love to wrestle in the PAC 12,”
he said.
Ebbs said Venegas’s biggest
impact was on his teammates,
with or without a state title.
“It was very clear to see
the positive impact he had on
people, how he made them
feel, how he helped them per-
form better, and how he tried
to have everyone operate at
a high standard with a ‘team’
mentality. He helped others
around him be better and that
will not be forgotten,” Ebbs
said.
Given the amount of dedi-
cation – as well as the results
he’s seen – it would be easy
for Venegas to rest on his lau-
rels, but the attitude that’s car-
ried him through the ups and
downs is still his defining char-
acteristic.
“I saw some of the older
guys lose, get angry and talk
about how much they hated
their opponents,” he said.
“Anyone who wrestles ... I
don’t care if you win a single
match, but if you can survive
the wrestling room, the work-
outs, the cutting weight, the
getting beat up, I have respect
for you.”