 |
| Contributed photo NATIONAL CHAMPS — James “Chico” Hernandez of Washburn, at right, joined Tariq Seifullah of Washington D.C., left, and Brandon Lee of Cincinnati as wrestlers earning titles at the “Sambo Joe”/USA Wrestling Sambo National Championships held in August in Jamestown, Ohio. In front is Lee’s son, Rufio. |
JAMESTOWN, Ohio — AAU Wrestling Hall of Fame and Maine Sports Hall of Fame member James “Chico” Hernandez of Washburn won the master’s division in the 220 lb. weight class at the 2013 “Sambo Joe”/USA Wrestling National Sambo Championships, held in August.
The Caribou High School varsity wrestling head coach, Hernandez now owns 44 international titles, 44 world titles and 32 national titles in freestyle and folkstyle wrestling, submission grappling, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, combat sambo and sports sambo.
Hernandez was particularly pleased with the results of the final fight of the tournament, which was set up by tournament director Joe Neely and pitted the 59-year-old Hernandez against 18-year-old Kentucky state champion Brandon Hester.
“He was very aggressive and strong and I used that to my advantage and I threw him to his back with a whizzer hip-toss for four points and I did it a few more times, building up a 10-point lead before I submitted him with an armbar from side mount,” Hernandez said. “His coach told me after the fight he was scared but I told him he did a great job and he settled down after the whistle blew. He was a tough kid.”
Hernandez, who once appeared on a box of Wheaties Energy Crunch cereal as an “Everyday Champion,” said the atmosphere was tremendous as the bout was held in front of a packed gymnasium.
“It felt great to get that victory. I think that was pretty cool,” he said. “I was worried that my cardio was not all that great going into the championships, but I held my own. I knew my strength was in top form as I have been lifting weights all summer with some Caribou High School athletes and I have a bench press of 275 pounds.”
He said he also was part of a few wrestling clinics held this summer and taught some MMA fighters from the Bangor area at Young’s MMA, so “I knew my technique was not rusty but was razor sharp.”
