Silva prepares to wrestle at national tournament in July

BARSTOW — Sean Silva hasn’t been away from home for more than a few days. He hasn’t traveled out of state beyond Las Vegas.

However, he will wrestle his way all over the United States this summer. Silva, who recently completed his freshman year of high school, will travel from Barstow to Iowa City, Iowa; back to Barstow; drive to San Jose; fly to Fargo, N.D., and then fly back to Barstow in the span of two weeks in July.

“I’ve never flown on a plane before,” said Silva. “I didn’t think I’d leave the state for wrestling.”

Silva will attended the Asics Cadet and Junior U.S. Freestyle and Greco Roman National Championships as a member of Team California in Fargo from July 23 to July 28. It’s one of the biggest amateur wrestling tournaments in the country and acts as a feeder system for the USA Olympic wrestling team.

Adam Hopkins, Barstow High School assistant wrestling coach, said every Division I wrestling program will be represented at the tournament.

“It’s the toughest tournament in the United States,” Hopkins said. “There’s a good possibility for Sean to do some good things and bring more attention to Barstow wrestling.”

Silva will wrestle as a cadet at 112 pounds in freestyle wrestling. He qualified as a junior, but Team California coaches decided to put him in the lower age bracket.

Silva had to place in the top three at three tournaments in April and May in order to qualify for the team. Team California has just 56 spots available.

Before heading to Fargo, Silva will join several Hesperia wrestlers at the Iowa Elite Camp on June 15. Silva signed up for the Iowa camp before he qualified for nationals and received permission to miss parts of Team California’s training camp in San Jose. He will fly back to California and have less than 24 hours at home before his dad drives him to San Jose for the last two days of training camp.

“It’s going to be fun,” Silva said, “I’m looking forward to training and getting better. Whatever I can do to get better for next year.”

Silva hasn’t taken many days off since his wrestling season ended in March. When he began wrestling in tournaments to qualify for the team, Hopkins said they had goals but not many expectations. Silva’s wrestled in about 40 matches since his high school season ended.

“I really didn’t know what we were going to get out of the deal,” Hopkins said. “We got another season out of the deal.”

Silva won’t be alone in Fargo. Hopkins earned a spot as an assistant coach with Team California. He plans to learn as much as he can from other coaches and incorporate with the Aztecs next season.

“I’m not re-inventing the wheel,” Hopkins said. “I’m just stealing ideas and hoping to bring a new, fresh look to Barstow.”

Hopkins said he sees the coaching opportunity as not only an opportunity to advance Barstow wrestling but also to advance High Desert wrestling as well. As a coach on Team California, Hopkins is hoping to prove that area wrestlers can compete with those from around the state and nation and recruit more wrestlers from the High Desert.