Medeiros staying the course
Accomplishments: In the last three wrestling seasons, Justin Medeiros has climbed up the ladder toward achieving great heights.
The Lodi High wrestler, a senior, needed only two steps to capture the title at 184 pounds at the Tri-City Athletic League Tournament at St. Mary’s High last Saturday. The wins, both by pin, improved Medeiros to a 19-3 record.
Today, Medeiros and 13 other Flame grapplers will compete at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I-AA Tournament at Pitman High of Turlock. The top four advance to the section’s Masters Tournament next weekend.
Medeiros needed only one minute in the first round to pin Tracy’s Brock McCarty in the title bout for the league title.
“It was my first time wrestling him,” said Medeiros of McCarty, who wrestled at 197s before dropping to the 184s.
Medeiros had seen McCarty wrestle during the season when Lodi faced Tracy in a TCAL meet last month.
“He’s a tall, lanky kid, and I know he’s going to have some reach on me,” said Medeiros of McCarty. “If he got on top, he’s going to be able to keep me down pretty good. I needed to score points quick.”
Medeiros led 2-0, recording his points on a takedown before he shot for McCarty’s legs, and then locked down the Bulldog’s shoulders to the mat for the win.
“It’s my senior year, my last chance,” said Medeiros, who won the 172-pound class as a junior last year. “From here on out, it’s elimination. You’ve got to treat every match like it’s your last, and you’ve got to give your everything. Just got to give 100 percent every match and hope for the best.”
Moving up to the 184s this season was a challenge Medeiros welcomed.
“The kids are a lot bigger,” Medeiros said. “They are not always strong (but) they are quick and agile. I needed to keep my strength up, and my techniques, make sure I have everything in place.”
Medeiros and Lodi were just two points away from winning the league title from league and crosstown rival Tokay, which pinned the Flames in the dual meet finale toward the end of last month.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” Medeiros said. “It didn’t work out how we wanted, but we also felt like we gave it our best.”
According to California Wrestler, Medeiros is ranked 18th in his weight class among California prep wrestlers. The recognition is an honor, but Medeiros pointed out it doesn’t mean anything until the end of the season.
“I’m proud of it, but it really doesn’t mean anything,” said Medeiros, who started wrestling in fifth grade. “You have to perform and show that and prove that (why) you’re actually ranked.”
That includes working harder after the end of last season going into the start of this season.
“I know I needed to work harder than last year,” Medeiros said. “Train hard and give it everything I have so I won’t be disappointed.”
Another perk to building his conditioning is taking part in Cross-Fit, which he started doing his freshman year at Lodi. Last summer, Medeiros competed at the Cross-Fit Games in Florida, where he took first place at 18 and under division.
During the wrestling sea-
son, after wrestling practices, Medeiros does his homework. Then he’s back at the cross-fit gym he works out at in the Lodi area. “It’s pretty hard,” Medeiros said. If all goes well, Medeiros is hoping to place at the divisional meet. That will follow with the section’s Masters Tournament at Stockton Arena next weekend, and concluding with a return trip to the state tournament.
“Everybody wants to make it to state,” Medeiros said. “We have our goals set in our
minds.”
The lessons he’s learned in hard work and sacrificing in wrestling are more steps toward life achievements that will continue at Boise State University, where Medeiros will be attending and majoring in criminal justice this fall. He has no plans to wrestle for the college.
“It’s definitely going to be a shock because I’ve done it for so long,” said Medeiros of wrestling. “It has taught me a lot in life, many life lessons. I think it’s definitely going to benefit me.”