Wrestler moves on to bigger things
Ariel Carmona
Issue date: 6/4/07 Section: Sports
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The 19-year-old 2nd year Mt. SAC student has been wrestling for 12 years. He got his start when he was seven and he credits his two older brothers for getting him interested in the sport.
The California native is a two time Junior College champion in the 184-pound weight class. While at Mt. SAC, he has won the Outstanding Wrestler in the State both years. He shared the honor with another wrestler this year. His future plans include attending Cal State Fullerton in the fall and he said he wants to be a Division 1 School standout and to win at the NCAA level.
Hawkins, a kinesiology major, attended Arroyo High School in El Monte where he was a 2-time CIF champion and 2-time state qualifier and now he coaches younger wrestlers there.
His family had always been interested in sports so he naturally gravitated in that direction, following in his older brothers' footsteps.
"I always wanted to do what they were doing. I talked my dad into letting me join a local league here in the San Gabriel Valley," Hawkins said while acknowledging his parents were always very supportive.
Though he admits balancing school and athletics takes dedication, Hawkins said it has also allowed him the opportunity to travel all over California. He's also been to Las Vegas and to teaching clinics in Arkansas. He has family in Missouri and even though a lot of wrestlers move to the Midwest, he said he wants to stay in California to represent the golden state in future competitions.
Yet, he never allows his passion for wrestling to interfere with his school work. "I make time for it. I'm in wrestling because I love it, but it keeps me in school. They go hand in hand, you have to be disciplined to do a sport," he said.
"When I was younger I went to tournaments in all over the valley. Kids' wrestling is really popular, they even have it on a national level. A lot of wrestlers would start when they got to High School, but kids are starting a lot younger nowadays," he said.
Hawkins has valuable advice for younger wrestlers.
"I always make sure they go out there and have fun. Kids can get burned out with all the pressures, I wrestle to have fun. It keeps me fresh so I'm not stressing. I make sure to tell them you can't half-ass wrestling, you have to give it 100 percent."
Mt. SAC has a proud tradition of churning out outstanding competitors in the sport, including Academic all Americans. Since 1990, Larry Watanabe, Mt. SAC's wrestling head coach has overseen Ben Barrett, Corey Hamabata, and Ryan Silvera, just to name a few. Hawkins said he's going to miss coach Watanabe when his time as a Mountie wrestler is done.
"The best thing about him is he was always there for us. In his own way he's pushing you toward where he thinks you should go, but he won't hound you .He wouldn't push us over the limit. He was just great," Hawkins said.
"Tim has been an excellent student athlete here. He's put in a lot of extra time not just in the practice room but also in the classroom. He's got a great attitude about him and he's refined his skills to become a great wrestler," coach Watanabe said.
Hawkins will also miss his wrestling partner, 27-year old Ryan Silvera.
Hawkins said even though the 197 pounder was older, they got a chance to become friends.
"He won 3rd ad 5th in the state while he was here. Just as much as anyone, he was always making sure I got my work done and didn't slack off. He's been through more life than I have and I can learn from his experiences," he said.
Hawkins emphasized the camaraderie is what he loves the most about the sport.
"The whole team is like a family. In wrestling, we have different weight classes and the other wrestlers are like little brothers. There's so much sweat and tears and blood, and we spend so much time in the practice room, the coaches become a part of your family," he added.
Hawkins explained there are guys in the Mt. SAC wrestling team from his High school and they spend time at each other's houses, sharing rides to school, or generally helping each other out whenever possible, helping to foster the family atmosphere.
"There are guys who wrestled at Mt. SAC 10 years ago who come back and we have a lot of respect for them, like you would for your grandfather. Once you're in one team, you can never get out of it, wrestling is addictive. I go back to my high school and they have the CIF titles displayed on the wall, it makes you miss it if you don't do it for a while," he said.