High school wrestling in Tucson was truly a “minor” sport until the 1970s, unable to gain much traction because the Arizona Interscholastic Association didn’t officially acknowledge wrestling until 1977, at which time the AIA took charge of operating the state tournament.
At the time, no one could’ve guessed that Sunnyside High School’s wrestling program was about to become the most dominant high school sports program in Tucson history.
Some background: Just as Tucson High was emerging as the city’s top wrestling school, Badgers head coach Jack Blabaugh died of a heart attack in midseason of 1964. The Badgers produced the city’s leading prep wrestler of the ’60s, All-American football lineman Bill Dawson, but once Dawson left to play football for Michigan State, new Pueblo High School coach John Mulay and the Warriors took charge.
Mulay became the city’s most accomplished wrestling coach. establishing a Hall of Fame legacy over 26 seasons, winning 1975 and 1992 state championships. But by the time Mulay retired in 1995, Sunnyside had won 14 of the last 17 state titles and to this day has never taken its foot off the accelerator.
In February, the Blue Devils won their 35th boys state wrestling championship since 1979, and for the first time there was some tangible evidence that one Sunnyside wrestling team could be identified as the “best ever.”
Perhaps it’s foolish to try to pick one of Sunnyside’s 35 state championship teams as No. 1, but the 2022 Blue Devils produced eight Division I individual boys state champions, the most in state history:
Sergio Vegas, 113 pounds (40-0 record)
James Armstrong, 120 pounds (37-2)
Carlos Stanton, 126 pounds (43-3)
Christian Rivera, 132 pounds (48-3)
Jaime Rivera Jr., 150 pounds (45-3)
Job Lee, 157 pounds (42-4)
Michael Avelar, 165 pounds (45-4)
Rene Fragoso, 190 pounds (49-1)
A ninth Blue Devil, Audrey Jimenez, won a state title in the 107-pound girls weight class.
Jaime Rivera Jr. is a four-time state wrestling finalist and three-time state champion. This fall, he’ll begin wrestling at West Point.
The Blue Devils had produced seven individual state champions in 2000 and 2007, and six in six different seasons from 1984-2020. But winning eight of the AIA’s 14 boys weight classes in one season is historic.
And so were the 2022 Blue Devils.
Said coach Anthony Leon: “We were successful because we focused on our effort and not on pressure or expectations.”
Leon knows all about pressure and expectations.
When the Blue Devils were searching for a replacement for coach Bobby DeBerry after the 2011 season — DeBerry had won 14 consecutive state titles — they interviewed Leon, a former Catalina High School offensive lineman and 2002-03 standout wrestler. At the time, Leon was a graduate assistant coach at NAIA wrestling powerhouse Lindenwood College of Missouri.
Sunnyside’s Rene Fragoso and Prescott’s Cody Hanna wrestle during the 55th annual Flowing Wells Wrestling Invitational at the Tucson Convention Center in January. Fragoso went on to win a Division I state title in the 190-pound weight class.
Sunnyside probably could’ve hand-picked one of Arizona’s prominent wrestling coaches, but believed that Leon had the drive and wrestling intuition to sustain the Blue Devils’ dynasty.
“If you know anything about the sport of wrestling,” Leon told the Star in 2011, “you know how much of an honor it is to be involved with Sunnyside’s program. Anybody could be successful at Sunnyside. I want to take it to a new level, though. I’m confident that when it comes to wrestling in Tucson, that I’m as qualified as anyone.”
This is qualified: Sunnyside has won the last five state championships by a cumulative margin of 366 points.
It’s not like the ‘22 Blue Devils were just a good high school team, either. Rivera signed to wrestle for Army. Fragoso signed to wrestle for ASU. Avelar, who has a season of eligibility remaining, has committed to wrestle for Air Force.
No other Arizona school has won more than 11 state wrestling championships. That’s 24 behind Sunnyside. When Leon boldly said “I want to take it to a new level,” it can now be said that he has been successful in doing so.
