Wilcox Is Committed to Being the Best

Don’t be fooled by Ty Wilcox’s demeanor. He’s not one of those wrestlers who think they have to grunt, scream or growl to be heard. Nor is he a physical specimen whose muscles ripple with every move. Instead, Wilcox is a humble, rather quiet athlete with an average build.

Since Wilcox transferred from Grass Valley Nevada Union to Calvary Chapel two years ago, he has won two consecutive state titles, at 152 and 160 pounds. He also has earned The Times Orange County wrestler of the year honors.

Wilcox has always had high goals when it came to wrestling. In fact, he gave his parents an ultimatum in his sophomore year: Either I go to the school that has the best wrestling program in the state, or I get out of the sport. It worked.

Wilcox remembers exactly when he decided he wanted to wrestle for Coach John Azevedo at Calvary Chapel. It was 1993, when the Eagles were in Stockton for the state finals. The Valdez brothers, Shane and Dane, and Calvary Chapel made quite an impression on Wilcox, who wasn’t yet in high school.

This fall, he will follow the Valdez brothers to Oklahoma.

“I’m really looking forward to going there,” Wilcox said of Oklahoma. “And I know that I’ll be starting from the bottom again, but that’s what drives me.”

As he sat against a wall in the runway at Spanos Center in Stockton after his state championship victory this month, Wilcox talked about his career at Calvary Chapel.

“There’s this movie called ‘8 Seconds.’ It’s about this guy who rides in the rodeo,” Wilcox said. “And there’s a scene when he’s talking to his dad about being on the top [of his sport].

“And the father says to his son, ‘The difficult part is not getting to the top, but staying on top. That’s the hard part.’ ”