All-orange Belt Wrestler of the Year
Good season for Cardwell, but fell short of goal
In a letterman jacket shrouded with medals and patches, it’s fairly obvious that Mark Cardwell is one of the best wrestlers in not only the Central Valley and California, but the nation as well.
In a letterman jacket shrouded with medals and patches, it’s fairly obvious that Mark Cardwell is one of the best wrestlers in not only the Central Valley and California, but the nation as well.
Fresh off medaling with a seventh-place finish at the 28th Annual National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) National Wrestling Championships in Virginia this past weekend, Cardwell continues to cement himself even further into Monache High School’s record books.
The junior finished the season with a record of 53-7, two of those losses coming from state champions from different states and others coming against California wrestlers he’s sure to have his revenge on next season. With another strong postseason run, he is undeniably The Recorder’s 2017-18 All-orange Belt Wrestler of the Year — an honor he received last season as well.
Ranked as the No. 2 170-pound wrestler in the state since the middle of the season by Thecaliforniawrestler.com, Cardwell placed second at the CIF Central Section Masters Championships en route to making his third-straight trip back to the CIF State Championships.
At state Cardwell placed fourth after falling to No. 1 Christian Rodriguez of Selma in the third-place match. But despite all of his accomplishments, none of them really mean anything to Cardwell who was just one round from competing for his first state title.
“When I placed at state it didn’t mean anything to me,” Cardwell said. “I went in there to win it and when I lost my semifinals match to the kid I’ve been beating, I couldn’t believe it. And then having to watch him go on and win just made me sick to my stomach.”
Cardwell uncharacteristically fell in a 7-0 decision to the eventual CIF State champion, No. 3 Trent Tracy of Frontier, in the semifinals. However, Cardwell managed to enact some revenge at Nationals with a 2-1 decision over Tracy. He said it was his favorite match of the season because it took Tracy out of the tournament while he went on to place.
“Mark had an outstanding Nationals tournament,” MHS head coach Arthur Demerath said. “He was victorious over multiple champions from other states, in a field filled with elite state champions from around the USA. In the round needed to become a medalist, he revenged a loss to the California state champion Trent Tracy of Frontier.”
Cardwell became an All-american — a title awarded to all medalist at Nationals — for the first time as a freshmen when he took third. He would’ve went his sophomore year, but an injury stopped him.
“Becoming an Allamerican for a second time is a huge accomplishment and very few in the history of Monache wrestling can claim those words,” Demerath said.
But becoming a champion is what Cardwell desires most. He’s been working at it since day one, spending mush of his time either in the weight room or in the wrestling room, keeping himself healthy and strong despite needing to cut weight at times.
“I know I have the ability to win it all, I just need to get my head straight and learn not to let the state tournament put so much pressure on me,” he said. “When I don’t worry about losing and just go out there and have fun, that’s when I wrestle my best.”
Last season a 160-pound Cardwell was ranked as the No. 3 wrestler and finished top 12 at state, so he’s become accustomed to the pressure that comes with being the cream of the crop and wrestlers wanting to knock him off. But still there seemed to be just one wrestler that could always get to him — Selma’s Christian Rodriguez.
The two met four times this season with Rodriguez beating Cardwell all four times, including in the final match at Masters and in the quarterfinals of the consolation rounds of Nationals, as well as at state. The closest Cardwell’s been to defeating Rodriguez was in a tournament earlier in the season where the match went to triple-overtime.
“Me and Christian have been going at it since elementary school and he’s a really smart wrestler,” Cardwell said. “He’s just hard to score on. I’ve gotten close to beating him, but I always come up short. My dad tells me when it comes to Christian it’s all in my head and I agree that part of it is. That’s something I need to fix.”
Next season all eyes will be on Cardwell who will attempt to become the first Marauder to qualify for state all four years of high school. If he does he’ll do so without seniors Beau Bradley and Jared Callison by his side. Together the three led Monache to win two of the last three East Yosemite League championships, placing top five at elite tournaments and placing seventh at “what is known as the toughest masters throughout the state” according to Demerath.
“All these accomplishments would not have been attained without a solid team and great effort from all, but three core members of this team elevated Monache wrestling to another level,” Demerath said. “Jared Callison, Beau Bradley, and Mark Cardwell are the first trio to attend state three years in a row which may be a first in Marauder wrestling history, a great accomplishment.”
Next season’s plan is simple for Cardwell — dominate every match and go undefeated on the way to a state championship.
“It is my expectation that Mark is going to find a way to break through and become the champion I know he is,” Demerath said with an emphasis on the word champion. “He will put in the time, he will dedicate himself, he will sacrifice, and he will out work anyone to meet his ultimate goal. He will do what it takes.”