Gilroy High principal Marco Sanchez got pranked in the best possible way. After completing a “homework assignment” of tracking down contact information for 2016 California Wrestling Hall of Fame inductees given to him by director Lynn Dyche, the Mustangs’ wrestling coach was informed he would be enshrined this year, too.
“It was a complete surprise,” Sanchez said, noting he found the official letter stating his induction while sorting through the high school’s junk mail last week. “It was a nice way to start the day.”
Sanchez is one of 10 individuals being inducted into the Hall’s Class of 2016 and one of four from his alma mater, Independence High School in San Jose.
A self-described “troubled child”, Sanchez got- his start in wrestling while attending William Sheppard Middle School in San Jose. In his youth, Sanchez was often getting into fights and was headed down a “bad path” before the school’s wrestling coach, Paul Ashmore, discovered him.
“(Ashmore) dragged me into the wrestling room one day and said ‘You want to fight? This is the real fight.’ The wrestlers trashed me and I got pissed off,” Sanchez recalled. “I said ‘I’m going to come back and beat all you guys’ and kind of got bit by the wrestling bug. That was a defining moment in middle school.”
Sanchez went on to wrestle through high school and won a state championship for Independence his senior year. The two-time All-American, National Champion Greco-Roman and 1996 Olympic wrestler received a scholarship to wrestle for Arizona State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. From there, he got his master’s degree in education from the University of Phoenix and a his Ph.D. in organizational leadership at Northcentral University—all of which was beyond his wildest dreams.
“I had never imagined going to college ever because no one in my family had ever even graduated high school,” Sanchez said. “It opened a lot of doors for me…and making the Olympics in ’96 was memorable for me being in Atlanta.”
Even with all his accolades and achievements, Sanchez said the most rewarding career has been working with the Mustangs wrestlers. He counts his blessings for his former coaches and the positive impact they’ve had on his life and is grateful for the opportunity to pay it forward.
“I thank God that I had people like that in my life to guide me,” Sanchez said. “I get the opportunity to do the same thing for our kids here. I see a little bit of me in every one of them.”
The 2016 Induction Banquet will be held May 21, 2016 at the San Jose Elks Club, 444 West Alma Ave., San Jose.
For more information on the ceremony and to see the list of other inductees, visit californiawrestlinghalloffame.com.
