Is this the year Torrey Toribio redeems his years of hard training and the lessons from hard losses?
Mentally tougher and grounded by hard-won patience, the senior John Oliver wrestler and 2013 cadet national champion begins his fifth and final quest to win a provincial gold medal.
Toughness, he said, 鈥淚s telling yourself how hard you work and how you鈥檙e not letting this one guy in front of you stop you. You have to use these matches as pay days and cash in all your hard work.鈥�
Toribio weigh in this afternoon for the regional zone tournament and for the fifth year in a row, will likely earn the top B.C. ranking for the 57 or 60 kilogram weight class. But for the first year, the sculpted five-foot-seven, 18-year-old Toribio wants that No. 1 rank to end with a first place finish at the provincial championships, scheduled for Feb. 26 to 28 in Abbotsford.
鈥淚t is on my list to win a B.C. title,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f I don鈥檛 win, I will be upset but it hasn鈥檛 bothered me from my previous years because I鈥檝e always been able to grow. After losing [鈥 I鈥檝e always come back stronger. I try to learn from those losses.鈥�
Since Grade 8, Toribio has won a medal every year at provincials. The three times he鈥檚 lost in a semi-final, he鈥檚 come back to win bronze. When he made the final last year, he lost to an older wrestler and still came away with silver.
鈥淚 was expected to win. I lost because of nerves.鈥� Of the semi-final losses as a junior, he said, 鈥淚 was rushing to get into the finals.鈥�
When he鈥檚 gone on to nationals in Ontario, Toribio has inevitably met some of the same wrestlers who鈥檇 gotten the better of him. 鈥淚鈥檇 beat them there,鈥� he said.
Toribio has not yet chosen a university for next year and is open to offers. The A-student wants to wrestle and compete at the post-secondary level.
His record this season includes wins at the Roberts Rumble, Abby Invitational, SFU鈥檚 elite War on the Floor and the Miri Piri championship. Most recently, he also won the Western Canadian title in the 68 kg class. Toribio also won gold in his class at the B.C. Summer Games.
鈥淗e鈥檚 run away with everything,鈥� said John Oliver coach Chris Fuoco. 鈥淧ound for pound, he鈥檚 the best kid. He鈥檚 probably the best kid in the country.鈥�
Toribio is 31-3 this season. Two losses were during a tour to Washington State where his freestyle form was at odds with the hosts鈥� folkstyle wrestling, which is practised in the NCAA. His third loss came at the hands of the national high school champion from Japan.
鈥淗e鈥檚 organized. He鈥檚 a good communicator. His teammates look up to him,鈥� said Fuoco. 鈥淗e makes me look good.鈥�
On a tour with the national team to Iowa, where wrestling is what hockey is to many Canadians, Toribio soaked in the Americans鈥� grit and added a few intangibles to his growing skill set.
鈥淚 learned a lot about toughness,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e more technical but they have something you can鈥檛 really teach 鈥� being tough and grinding it out. It鈥檚 like a dog fight, you have to be hungry every time you go on the mat. You have to believe in the work you鈥檝e put in.鈥�
It鈥檚 time for Toribio to take that hard work out of the bank and cash it in for gold.
