Sunlake High School came in 10th place at regionals last weekend but the school still managed to get one wrestler though to the state championship.
John Ortiz, who wrestles at 112 pounds, scored an upset victory over Shaun Shakoor to place him in this weekend’s big event in Lakeland.
Ortiz is only a sophmore but he is no stranger to competitive wrestling. He was a varsity wrestler for Sunlake last year as a freshman. This year he is wrestling at 112 pounds and is the team captain.
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Ortiz comes from good stock. His older brother, Eddie, wrestled in high school and came as close as sixth in the state one year. His brother has since moved on to continue wrestling at Cumberland University but the seed for John was planted at an early age.
John began wrestling his older brother at the age of 8. He started competing in freestyle and Greco-Roman with the Wesley Chapel Wildcats, a competitive league in south Pasco. He’d always wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps.
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Now he stands a chance to make his own footsteps.
John will compete in this weekend’s tournament with a chance to out-stretch his older brother’s accomplishments.
“You could tell he turned it on after the Christmas break. He’d been training with his brother and you could see the improvement,” said Sunlake athletic director and head Coach Rus Schenk of Ortiz. “Wrestling is 10 percent physical and 90 percent between the ears. John realized he was in control of his own destiny and he’s bought into that idea.”
Schenk could not be more pleased.
“We brought 11 kids to regionals. That’s something when you consider only two are graduating.” he said.
Ortiz is nearly beside himself as the weight of his accomplishments sets it.
“It’s surreal. People always say you have to put the time in and I have. It’s nice to know all that hard work is paying off,” he said.
He is riding the crest of a huge match against Shaun Shakoor of Dunedin. Shakoor was favored in the district, the region; people were talking about where he would land in the state championship list.
Ortiz wasn’t hearing any of it.
In their match, Shakoor was up by a point with seconds left. Ortiz stepped in and pinned Shakoor as the clock expired to qualify him for the state match.
His journey has not been without adversity.
Aside from battling through neck and elbow injuries, he suffered a tough loss to Jordan Rivera at regionals. However, his resolve never faltered and he was back in the wrestling room at Sunlake High School Monday afternoon, going through the drills and putting in the work. His attitude is that of a much older teen. He has a promising career in front of him and even though he is the only wrestler from Sunlake competing this weekend, he has his brother, his coach and his attitude behind him.
Land ‘O Lakes Patch sat down with him at the Feb. 14 practice.
Patch: What is your favorite thing about wrestling?
Ortiz: Throwing people.
Patch: What is your favorite subject in school?
Ortiz: World history.
Patch: What are your career aspirations?
Ortiz: I think I’d like to be an athletic trainer. Something to do with sports rehabilitation. I like being in the sports atmosphere. I wouldn’t mind being a wrestling coach either.
Patch: Do you plan to pursue wrestling in college?
Ortiz: Yes, definitely. It’s hard to find a university that has wrestling. Florida doesn’t have any as far as I know.