Emilio Saavedra and the Central Catholic wrestling program have a message for the section: “We’re back”.
The coach in his fourth season has turned the program into a contender and is on a mission to make sure Central Catholic is known for much more than football.
Saavedra knows his stuff. He was a wrestling state champion for Modesto High at 138 pounds as a senior in 2014 and wrestled at nationally ranked Old Dominion University and Fresno State.
His résumé speaks for itself and he likely could have his choice of wrestling jobs around the state. He instead returned home to coach at Central Catholic four years ago for a gig in which he thought he would be coaching his younger brother, Nicholas.
The younger Saavedra brother instead took up boxing, but Emilio just couldn’t leave the Raiders’ wrestling community.
“I ended up feeling the love of these kids and the relationships that I took in with the kids, and I just couldn’t leave them hanging,” Saavedra said. “I had to be here for these kids, and since then, it’s just been a train rolling forward.”