TheMat.com
#Mike Denney# knows that recruiting can sometimes be a bit of a crapshoot.
He is fully aware that not every kid with sparkling credentials coming out of high school will be a star on the college mats.
But Denney had few doubts five years ago when he was trying to land a young high school star from Kansas named #Cody Garcia#.
“I went after him with everything I had,” Denney said.
Denney’s instincts and persistence paid dividends in landing a wrestler who already ranks as one of the best he has coached in three decades as head coach at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Garcia, a junior from Hutchinson, Kan., is halfway to becoming just the fifth wrestler in the 45-year history of the NCAA Division II Championships to win four national titles.
Garcia is ranked No. 2 at 133 pounds this season after capturing national titles at 125 in 2006 and 2008. He took a medical redshirt in 2007.
“Cody has really done a great job of peaking at the end of the season,” Denney said. “He wrestles a very exciting style where he is always looking for the pin and looking to score points. He really gives us a spark and the other guys on the team feed off that.”
Garcia redshirted his first year in Omaha, but his impact was immediate.
“The first week of practice, we knew he could wrestle with anybody,” UNO assistant coach #Ron Higdon# said. “We had a four-time state champion from Nebraska that we had recruited to wrestle 125 and Cody took him down six times in the first minute that they wrestled. We knew right away this kid was going to be special.”
Garcia learned the sport from his father, Mike, an NCAA Division II champion for Central Missouri State.
Garcia won three Kansas state titles while being coached by his father at Hutchinson (Kan.) High School.
“My dad’s been so influential,” Cody said. “I grew up around the sport and I started wrestling when I was 4 years old. He’s taught me so much about wrestling and he’s done a great job guiding me with my life.”
Denney said Garcia plans to follow his parents into coaching. His mother, Tina, coaches gymnastics.
“Cody will be a tremendous coach,” Denney said. “I hope to keep him around here to help coach our guys after he’s done wrestling. He is so knowledgeable and passionate about wrestling. He has a great personality and relates well to the kids on our team. He’s almost like another assistant coach now because he’s such a great leader.”
UNO has been ranked No. 1 all season. Garcia and fellow two-time national champion #Todd Meneely# led the Mavs to the 2009 National Duals title.
The Mavericks have six All-Americans in their powerful lineup.
“I was part of the 2006 team that won the national title and went undefeated. We had so many accomplishments that year, in wrestling and academically,” Garcia said. “There is something special about this year’s team as well. It’s pretty unique. We enjoy what we do. We have guys coming in 20 to 30 minutes early for practice. We work hard together and we all hang out together. It’s a great group of guys.”
Garcia is ranked second nationally at 133 behind Kutztown’s Joe Kemmerer, who won a national title in 2007. They have never faced each other.
Garcia has become a virtual expert on time management. In addition to balancing wrestling and school, where he is a first-team Academic All-American, Garcia has a 15-month-old daughter, Milayna.
Garcia and his girlfriend, Kym Sheffler, also a student at UNO, are raising their daughter together.
“Having a daughter has changed my outlook on life a lot, for the better,” Garcia said. “You learn to be selfless and your priorities change. You have someone else in your life that is more important than yourself. You focus on what really matters. You can’t just think about yourself and what you’re doing.”
Garcia’s class schedule even has allowed him to be home with his daughter during the day a couple of times a week.
“I play with her and read to her,” he said. “It’s fun to see her growing. Her mind is developing so quickly. We have a blast together. I try to make it home after practice for her bedtime at 7:30. Then I’m so tired I usually can’t make it past 10 o’clock before I fall asleep.”
Having a chance to wrestle for a Hall of Fame coach in Denney, who has led UNO to four NCAA tournament titles, is another factor that drew Garcia to Omaha.
“I don’t know if I could even put into words how much Coach Denney has helped me,” Garcia said. “He genuinely cares about every single wrestler in our room – on and off the mat. He is there for you on so many levels. He’s a great coach, but an even better person.”
Garcia’s run of success at the NCAA Division II level may make you wonder how well he could’ve done in Division I.
Garcia drew recruiting interest from Iowa State. Garcia’s cousin, past NCAA champion Zach Roberson, competed for the Cyclones.
“I had some chances to go to some other schools, but I just felt more comfortable at UNO,” Garcia said. “This felt like the right fit when I came here on my recruiting visit, and I haven’t doubted my decision to come here one bit. It’s fun to be here.”
Said Higdon: “I was shocked that we got Cody. I thought for sure he was going to Iowa State.”
Garcia’s abilities were on full display earlier this season when he defeated talented Oklahoma State freshman Jordan Oliver 6-5 in the finals of the Nebraska-Kearney Open. Oliver was the nation’s top high school recruit in 2008.
“Cody inside-tripped him so fast that Oliver didn’t even know what hit him,” Higdon said. “Cody’s so fast and versatile. He’s in on a shot before you can react to it. If you shoot on him, he’s great in a scramble and very tough to score on. He’s relentless in every position. He’s always trying to score.”
Garcia’s quest to become a four-time NCAA champion will continue next month at the Division II nationals in Houston, Texas. The 2010 nationals will be held on Garcia’s home mats at UNO.
“I haven’t really thought about it much,” Garcia said of having a shot at winning four national titles. “After I won last year, people started talking about it. I just focus on each year, and my goal each year is to win a national championship.”
Among those cheering Garcia on in his quest to win four national titles will be his former UNO teammate, four-time Division II national champion #Les Sigman#.
Sigman, a heavyweight, captured title No. 4 for the Mavericks in 2006. It was the same year Garcia won his first title for the Mavericks.
“Cody just needs to focus on his performance and what he can control – he can’t think about all the hype,” Sigman said. “Naturally, the pressure is going to be there, but Cody seems to wrestle better as the season progresses. He’s very mentally tough. He thrives on pressure and he wrestles his best in the big tournaments.”
Garcia’s aggressive, attacking style is similar to the approach Sigman employed during his magical college career.
“Cody’s obviously very talented,” Sigman said. “I don’t see anybody beating him. There are so many variables involved in winning it four times, like staying healthy and staying focused for every match. But I really think Cody has a very good shot to do it.”
