TOPEKA, Kansas — James “Chico” Hernandez had to overcome a few obstacles en route to a successful outing at a recent wrestling tournament in Kansas.
The 63-year-old Washburn man lacked sleep due to the aggressive travel schedule leading up to his first match and withstood 100 degree heat that was covering the Midwest. Still, he ended up with two gold medals in his age group and collected a bronze and a fourth-place finish while competing against wrestlers who were 20 to 30 years younger than him at the Sunflower State Games on July 15.
Hernandez flew from Boston into his hometown of Chicago and then drove 750 miles for the weigh-in on just a few hours of sleep. Facing very humid weather conditions added to the adversity.
“I was not acclimated to the heat and it takes me about two weeks to do so,” Hernandez said. “The heat was my enemy, so I made the best of it but I really felt it as I was getting really dizzy and felt weak coming off the mat in my match [against Nebraska’s Adam Noll].”
Hernandez led 3-2 with 30 seconds left but then told the ref that he was unable to continue and took a medical forfeit. Noll went on to the finals before losing to his opponent in overtime, 2-1.
The wrestling style for this tourney was American Folkstyle, which Hernandez said he had not used in competition in over two years. Still, he claimed the three medals for another strong showing during his lengthy, successful career.
Other styles Hernandez has competed in during hiscareer are Olympic freestyle, Greco-Roman, Judo, Sambo, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu and submission wrestling.
As the head varsity wrestling coach at Caribou High School, Hernandez said he tries to stay abreast of new moves and techniques that he can pass along to his young athletes.
Hernandez, who spent some of his military career at Fort Riley over 30 years ago, said that Kansas is “a very special place” to him.
“The quality of wrestling in the state is really good and rich in tradition as they produce many All-Americans and Olympians,” he said.
Hernandez, a National AAU Wrestling Hall of Famer, now owns 61 lifetime state titles. In addition to Kansas, he has won in Arizona, Maine, Illinois, Texas, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Ohio, Tennessee, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Florida, Iowa, Michigan and Massachusetts.
