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OREM — Before his 126-pound quarterfinal match at the 6A state wrestling tournament Friday afternoon, Kyison Garcia turned to one of his assistant coaches and quipped, "this is a lot easier on two legs."
After all he's been through, a shot at a second state title remains open for the Mountain Ridge grappler — and that's all he can ask.
One year after lumbering to a third-place finish on one leg, soft-braced and booted up following a spiral fracture in his tibia and fibula and a dislocation in his left leg, Garcia has his sights set on a second state championship.
The broken leg cost him a shot at one of four state titles; it won't cost him another.
"My dad showed me a picture of us at the state tournament, with my medal and on crutches, and he said, 'remember this day.' Those words have stuck with me all day, and they're going to going into tomorrow," Garcia said.
"I'm going to put on a show and make it fun for the fans."
About a month before the state tournament, Garcia fractured his leg in two places and dislocated his fibula, his dad said. The teenager was two weeks clear of surgery before the divisional tournament, where he and his father Patrick — one of his wrestling coaches since he was a toddler — devised a rig in consultation with the family's doctor that would keep his non-weight bearing leg as protected as possible while he wrestled.
He didn't recover until last December. But he was able to make it through the tournament and finish third, thanks to teammates Dalton Anderson and Braden Stevens and coach Dwayne Henry who pushed him forward.
Garcia wouldn't be able to stand on that leg, so he'd have to significantly alter his wrestling style. But after seeing the contraption, they gave it a go en route to a third-place finish.
"I competed at some other big tournaments, and just wasn't quite there physically or mentally," Garcia said. "I wasn't training how I wanted to train. It took me a while to get my mind put back in the right spot again, to where I was ready to do whatever necessary to win."
It wasn't perfect, but neither is life, his dad Patrick Garcia said.
"You're not going to have a perfect takedown or setup; that's not the way it works in any sport," he added. "Nothing's ever going to be ideal. You just have to learn to adapt as an athlete, and that's it. You do what you have to do."
It's not the first time Garcia, a junior who is being recruited by several Ivy League and Big Ten wrestling programs, has fought through adversity. Before his freshman season at Mountain Ridge, Garcia lost his mother after a two-year battle with an autoimmune disease — taking away one of his biggest supporters. Every time he steps on the mat, he does it for her.
Just a few months after her passing, Garcia won his first championship. The sport of wrestling, one he's fought in from the time he was a toddler with his father's club Team Prestige through his all-star laden prep career, helped carry him through.
"He's just a good all-around athlete, a good student, works hard," said Patrick Garcia of his son, who also boasts a 4.0 grade-point average. "He just loves the sport, not just likes it. Very few wrestlers love the sport quite like him."
His injury, in many ways, was just another trial to overcome — and one that taught him several inmportant life lessons.
"I think I just want to live in the moment," Kyison Garcia said. "Last year I had an opportunity taken away from me … and my coaches helped me realize I only get to do this a few times. It's important to go out and wrestle hard, and do what you love.
"I knew I always loved wrestling, but I didn't realize how much I'd miss it when it went away. It was rough not being able to compete like I wanted, not being able to train. When it was taken away from me, it was really hard."
In the team competition, Layton took a two-point lead on Pleasant Grove after the first day. The Vikings, who have won 10 of the last 11 6A state titles, advanced eight wrestlers to Saturday's semifinals to the Lancers' six.
Westlake, Corner Canyon and Fremont rounded out the top five.
In the girls competition, defending champion Westlake cruised to a 30-point lead over second-place Copper Hills. The Thunder rolled up 11 semifinalists that will compete in Thursday's semifinals, beginning at 11 a.m. MST for all wrestlers at the UCCU Center.
UHSAA 6A Boys Wrestling
Feb. 18, 2022
UCCU Center, Orem
Team scores
Layton 113, Pleasant Grove 111, Westlake 89.5, Corner Canyon 80, Fremont 79, Syracuse 59, Mountain Ridge 50.5, Lone Peak 45.5, Bingham 39.5, Davis 39.5, Skyridge 34, American Fork 33, Farmington 27, Hunter 27, Cyprus 23, Copper Hills 21, Herriman 21, Clearfield 18, Granger 18, Riverton 18, Weber 17, West 14.5, Roy 3, West Jordan 3, Kearns 1.
Saturday's semifinals
106 — Cole Fenwick, Layton, vs. Korbin Chuchran, Westlake; Layne Kleimann, Mountain Ridge, vs. Zack Anderson, Syracuse.
113 — Tyler Vivanco, Corner Canyon, vs. Jason Worthley, Fremont; Geronimo Rivera Jr., Layton, vs. Hudson Palmer, Farmington.
120 — Jacob Carson, Pleasant Grove, vs. Isaac Price, Copper Hills; Jace Lemons, Layton, vs. Jacob Waddoups, Davis.
126 — Israel Gonzalez, Pleasant Grove, vs. Sutton Brown, Syracuse; Kyison Garcia, Mountain Ridge, vs. Quinn Bedell, Corner Canyon.
132 — Ddamian Neuwirth, Pleasant Grove, vs. Dallan Hunsaker, American Fork; Brayden Robinson, Westlake, vs. Payden Woolsey, Corner Canyon.
138 — Koda DeAtley, Pleasant Grove, vs. Logan Hancey, Fremont; Preston Stevens, Mountain Ridge, vs. Brigham Bagley, Corner Canyon.
144 — Drew Lang, West, vs. Tucker Butler, Westlake; Kaden Olson, Riverton, vs. Max Benson, Pleasant Grove.
150 — Joshua Mllward, Skyridge, vs. Corbin Platt, Fremont; Jace Brower, Westlake, vs. Ty Carman, Herriman.
157 — Sam May, Farmington, vs. Jacob Green, Westlake; Jordan Faifai, Syracuse, vs. Carson Neff, Bingham.
165 — Tanner Giatras, Weber, vs. Zachary Phipps, Syracuse; Kael Bennie, Layton, vs. Corbin Baumgartner, Lone Peak.
175 — Cayaen Smith, Lone Peak, vs. Jacob Keblis, Fremont; Geovanni Thomas, Davis, vs. Trevyn Gates, Pleasant Grove.
190 — Mahkyi Smith, Lone Peak, vs. Ethan Hearne, Layton; Ridge Lindley, Fremont, vs. Luke Evans, Pleasant Grove.
215 — Teancum Mitchell, Corner Canyon, vs. Skyler Armenta, Cyprus; Damon Armenta, Cyprus, vs. Bradley Critchfield, Corner Canyon.
285 — Kort Wilkinson, Pleasant Grove, vs. Davis Pickett, Clearfield; Noah Linford, Layton, vs. Cooper Mumford, Lone Peak.
UHSAA 6A Girls Wrestling
Feb. 18, 2022
UCCU Center, Orem
Team scores
Westlake 132, Copper Hills 102, Pleasant Grove 78, Mountain Ridge 61, Riverton 55, Syracuse 55, Cyprus 53, Granger 50, Corner Canyon 48, Weber 48, Hunter 42, Layton 40, Fremont 30, Davis 29.5, Bingham 29, Herriman 15, Taylorsville 15, Farmington 14, West Jordan 14, Skyridge 12, Kearns 11, Roy 11, Clearfield 10, American Fork 3.
Saturday's semifinals
100 — Kristina Kent, Davis, vs. Ulyssa Peterson, Weber; Sherlyn Orduno, Granger, vs. Mailen Tran, Bingham.
105 — Jamie Barton, Westlake, vs. Athena Oro, Granger; Isabelle Fisher, Pleasant Grove, vs. Kaaulani Hew-Len, Hunter.
110 — Marlie Rigby, Layton, vs. Jenna Olsen, Hunter; Lexus Bertagnoli, Roy, vs. Aleena Navarrete, Weber.
115 — Belia Butterfield, Riverton, vs. Aly Larson, Corner Canyon; Brooklyn Pace, Copper Hills, vs. Samantha Memmott, Layton.
120 — Ashley Cannon, Westlake, vs. Cheyenne Cummings, Cyprus; Kimberly Flowers, Copper Hills vs. Olivia Barton, Syracuse.
125 — Celeste Detoles, Westlake, vs. Valentin Martinez, Davis; Gracie Borchardt, Pleasant Grove, vs. Brylee Roennebeck, Syracuse.
130 — Neida Valle, Hunter, vs. Ava Krebs, Pleasant Grove; Brinlee Gines, Fremont, vs. Ameris Jensen, Westlake.
135 — Quincy Peterson, Westlake, vs. Kara Noyce, Copper Hills; Meleana Fager, Corner Canyon, vs. Kate McNeill, Mountain Ridge.
140 — Lizzie Shunn, Westlake, vs. Taylor Martin, Pleasant Grove; Kacy Mecham, Cyprus, vs. Hailey Pigg, Westlake.
145 — Emmy Finlinson, Westlake, vs. Leticia Garcia, Kearns; Bella Morgan, Corner Canyon, vs. Angella Van Valkenburg, Bingham.
155 — Haley Diaz, Layton, vs. Bailee Nelson, Cyprus; Brooklyn Hays, Pleasant Grove, vs. Ellyana Shaner, Weber.
170 — Adel Roennebeck, Syracuse, vs. Tayleigh Robertson, Copper Hills; Anya Hatch, Copper Hills, vs. Jesse Harrison, Westlake.
190 — Mikaylee Stitcher, Bingham, vs. Tori Poulsen, Cyprus; Cheyenne Ruiz, Taylorsville, vs. Rachel Johnson, Riverton.
235 — Keilikki Rarick, Westlake, vs. Zole Nerch, Copper Hills; Bethany Gardner, Granger, vs. Makaylee Huntsman, Westlake.
