Brethren Christian Keeps Success Coming

Mark Cody tried to tell people last year that the Brethren Christian wrestling team would be good.

Sure there weren’t many wrestlers--perhaps 10 or 12--and they would not be seen at too many dual meets. But when the Southern Section tournament came around, they were ready.

Last year the Warriors, 11-2 overall and 2-1 in the Olympic League, produced four Southern Section champions--Mike Simpson (105 pounds), Steve Garica (119) Larry Rodriguez (125) and Pat Cadwallader (140). All four were on the Times all-county first team. Simpson and Garcia, both juniors, return.

Cody, in his second year as coach, now wants the Warriors to be among the county’s elite teams and not be just a one-season wonder.

But not all of Brethren Christian’s challenges were on the mat.

During the summer, the school relocated to Huntington Beach after the Anaheim Unified School District decided not to renew the lease for the Cypress campus. Cody was concerned he might not have a team.

But this winter, Cody and his three assistant coaches will have 20 wrestlers. They will be young again--only two seniors--but they will be good.

“Last year we wound up ninth in the state,” Cody said. “Our next goal is to win the section and the state. I’m tired of being second [to Calvary Chapel] and so are the kids.”

That’s a lofty goal, considering the array of wrestling talent in the county alone. Calvary Chapel, which has won five state titles the past six years, will be strong. So should Santa Ana, El Modena, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Dana Hills and Loara.

Nonetheless Cody expects his team to wrestle confidently.

“We’ve had [section] individual champs but never a state champ at Brethren,” Cody said. “We’ve never won a state team title. That’s what’s driving the kids now. They want to be the first.”

El Modena Coach Alan Clinton said Cody, who took over when former coach Steve Glassey took a job in New Mexico, is making Brethren Christian a respected foe.

“His kids are technically sound,” Clinton said. “They do what they do very well. They don’t beat themselves often. They are becoming a force.”

Simpson, 16, said Cody has had a strong influence on the Warriors, “especially me.

“He was major reason for my success. By the end of the year I could see [winning a title] was possible.”

Garcia, 16, who will wrestle at 130 pounds, said Cody doesn’t emphasize a “signature” move or hold. Instead he teaches techniques to complement the individual wrestler’s abilities.

He said wrestling has helped mature him.

“It’s an individual sport. What you do is on you, win or lose,” Garcia said. “That’s what I love about it.”

Anthony Rodriguez, younger brother of Larry Rodriguez, is one of the up-and-coming wrestlers Cody will depend on this year. He said he expects big things from the team as well as himself.

“My brother [who is now at UC Davis] was seventh in state last year,” Anthony Rodriguez said. “His goal was to place in state. My goal is to win state.”