Flathead's Vasquez AA mat champion
BILLINGS — Down to the wire, Trae Vasquez kept fighting.
When the freshman hit a switch to reverse Timmy Garcia of Billings Skyview, allowing the final 22 seconds to tick off the clock for an 8-7 victory, he won the Class AA 113-pound state championship at the All-Class State wrestling tournament at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark on Saturday night.
“The hard work has paid off. All the time in the wrestling room, pushing myself, going to tears, puking, this is what I was pushing for,” he said.
“Once the clock hit zero I looked up at the fans and though ‘I did it. I’m number one.’ I hugged my dad and broke down into tears. I have the best support, the best fans.”
Vasquez started off the match with a scoring flurry.
Executing a sweep single and an arm drag off a Russian arm bar, Vasquez took a 4-2 lead into the second period.
“In the beginning I felt fresh. I was going hard. I needed to keep the pressure on him. I knew he was going to stay defensive,” Vasquez said.
“Getting that Russian, we work that all the time. In the first period, I felt really good.”
But Garcia, a senior, wouldn’t surrender just yet. He opened up the second period with an escape before claiming a takedown on the edge of the mat to take a 5-4 lead.
Vasquez, calm, cool and collected, escaped with five seconds remaining in the period to even the bout at five.
In the third, Garcia allowed an uncontested escape, but scored another takedown with 37 seconds left in the match to lead 7-6.
On the edge of the mat, with time winding down, Vasquez was attempting what the packed house at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark thought he would do — get out of bounds and restart in the middle of the circle.
That’s when he etched his name in the record books.
Vasquez reversed Garcia while managing to keep both himself and his opponent in the circle.
“I heard my dad in my ear saying, ‘Know where you’re at. Get out and get a fresh start,’” he said.
“I was trying to get out, but I felt him let up a little bit. I felt the pressure there so I hit that switch and once I got it, I knew that was it.”
The Flathead cheering section erupted as the clock hit zero. Vasquez pointed to them, flexed his muscles and ran to his father for a well-deserved hug.
“You take a look around a little bit, take a breath and appreciate where you’re at and what you’re doing,” Flathead coach and Trae’s father Rich Vasquez said.
“Of course, win or lose I would be proud of him. I’m proud of how hard he works and the effort he’s put in to get to this point. To find a way to win is what we preach — keep that effort going and find a way to win.”
“When he’s in my corner, I know he always has my back,” the grappler said of his father/coach. “It feels like he’s out on the mat with me. He knows what I’m going to do before I even think it. It’s just great to have that support in the corner.”
Like any first-time state champion, Vasquez was still wide-eyed, taking in the atmosphere he just conquered. But it won’t last long.
“I’m going to go home, rest and take care of my body, but the work continues right after this,” he said.
“I won a state championship and that’s great. I’m going to hang onto that forever, but now it’s about moving forward. The goal is to get four.”