Benavente Shows Power of Grit, Determination
Richard Benavente, a senior at Bellflower St. John Bosco, knows he represents a lot of things to a lot of people. He’s their underdog, an inspiration, or, at the least, an example of the benefits of hard work and determination.
He just doesn’t think of himself that way. Benavente says he’s “just a wrestler” determined to win. And he is doing just that -- with only one arm.
“A lot of people I encounter, they think I’m not able to wrestle,” said Benavente, who competes in the 152-pound classification. “A lot of the teams we face, you can hear the snickering and the remarks and stuff like that when I come to the circle. But after I walk off the mat with my hand raised, then they’re the ones that are quiet.”
Benavente, who was born with a condition that prevented his right arm from fully developing, has quieted skeptics with a record of 22-6 with 16 pins.
Tonight, he and the Braves face La Puente Bishop Amat in a dual meet that will determine the Serra League champion.
“It’s one of the most inspirational things you’ll ever see,” said Reseda Cleveland Coach Robert Moose, who watched Benavente wrestle to a fifth-place finish at the San Fernando tournament.
“When you first see him, you think, ‘There’s no way,’ but then he attacks his opponents with so much intensity, he just wears them down.”
When Benavente, who is also a black belt in karate, joined the St. John Bosco team two years ago, Coach Omar Delgado not only encouraged him but also helped him develop the moves he needed to become competitive.
“When Richard first came out, I thought, ‘Well, the kid’s got one arm. We’re going to have to improve everything else about him,’ ” Delgado said. “ ‘We’re going to have to teach him to use trips. We’re going to have to teach him to use his legs. We’re just going to have to work around it.’ ”
Benavente has developed signature moves, using his legs in place of his arm. His legs have become so strong that when he wraps them around his opponents, very few are able to break free.
“His advantage is his strong leg power. That’s how he got me,” Artesia’s John Aguirre said after losing to Benavente in a quarterfinal of the Norwalk Glenn tournament. “His arm was pretty strong too. He pinned me.”
In the fifth-place match of the San Fernando tournament, Benavente trailed Chatsworth’s Galileo Moreno, 5-0, after the first period. But Benavente held onto Moreno for the entire second period with his legs and, according to Delgado, “just wore him down.”
Benavente was able to tie the score, 5-5, with 10 seconds left in the third period to force overtime.
As Delgado recalled, Moreno was “clearly winded and much more worn out than Richard,” and at the start of the extra period, Benavente went in for the take-down and won.
“After I beat a guy, they pretty much walk with their head down and they look at their coach like, ‘What happened?’ ” Benavente said. “Even the coaches, sometimes they don’t even know what happened.”
And there’s another reaction: “Whenever he wins, the crowd always goes crazy,” teammate Juan Sanchez said.
Benavente would rather make jokes about his missing arm than have it be used as an example. He likes being called the “One-Arm Bandit.” Teammates joke about how he ties his shoes, and he smiles. His coach will sarcastically make references to “using his arm as an excuse” and Benavente will laugh out loud.
“It’s kind of like a running gag,” Benavente said. “You get to a point where you don’t even let it affect you. It makes me laugh when the guys joke with me. To me, I’m just a normal person.”
But as humble as he is, he’s smart enough to understand what he represents.
“I guess it’s kind of like the old cliche that you can do whatever you set your mind to,” he said. “People have told me that since I was young and I believe it. I do have to work harder than most people, but I’m not doing it to set an example. I’m doing it for myself.”