MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - A small leap from one state to another in order to further one’s education seems relatively normal these days, especially for athletes. However, travel more than 3,000 miles, from the West Coast of the United States to the East Coast, and that will likely raise some eyebrows. For West Virginia’s David Jauregui, though, he never thought twice about his decision and what unknowns awaited him.

	Senior David Jauregui is looking to qualify for NCAAs a fourth consecutive season. All-Pro Photography Dale Sparks photo

“I wanted to get away from my parents and kind of grow up on my own,” Jauregui said. “WVU also offered me the biggest scholarship compared to a lot of other schools. It seemed like the best choice at the time. My mom was happy. She came on the recruiting trip with me and she was more happy sending me here than anywhere else, so it was a joint decision.”

A Santa Ana, Calif., native, Jauregui was about to leave the only world and environment he knew, not to mention, he was leaving family, friends and everything he knew behind.

“It was definitely a little bit different coming out here and being taken away from your culture because where I live, it’s mostly Mexicans, and I’m Mexican,” Jauregui says. “I’m used to that culture, that food, that life. California isn’t like the rest of the country, Southern California at least. Coming out here and moving out here and experiencing something like a big world to me because it’s the East Coast. West Virginia is a cluster from people all over the East Coast. It was definitely a big change and I had to learn a lot to adjust.”

While people in society consider 18-year-olds to be the next generation of adults in this world, adjusting to another environment that’s on the opposite side of the country is quite a challenge.

What makes all of this seem like a miniscule obstacle is the fact that Jauregui, one of the nation’s best grapplers at 149 pounds, did not start wrestling until he was a freshman in high school. Considering some of the best athletes in their respective sports start at such a young age – some parents have their son or daughter throwing a ball before they can walk – it seems extraordinary that Jauregui was wrestling for only four years prior to making the jump to the collegiate level.

Realize, though, that the decision to get into wrestling was not even Jauregui’s choice – it was more of a decision that he was forced into late in junior high school.

“One of my junior high school teachers got me into it,” Jauregui said. “I was always getting into trouble and getting detentions in junior high and he was always asking me, ‘So you think you’re tough?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I think I’m tough.’ So he said, ‘Well, we’ll see how tough you are. We’ll put you into seventh period wrestling.’

“I had study hall so he went ahead and made the changes for me and made the slip and said, ‘Show up at the wrestling room next week.’ I did and ended up getting into the wrestling class in high school too after that. Wrestling and everything just fell into place.”

As far as being instantly pulled into the sport like a magnet, Jauregui was not. He did, however, draw an interest after a period of time.

“My freshman year of high school, I wasn’t too into it. My high school team was the most successful in California history at the time so I admired some of these guys and I wanted to see what they did, what kind of life they led, and that’s when I became interested, “Jauregui recalled. “Wrestling kind of brought me into it because these guys did great things for my high school and I wanted to see what that took.”

Despite being indifferent at first, Jauregui quickly gained interest and worked his way toward becoming one of the school’s most notable competitors. As a senior, he garnered ASICS Tiger High School Honorable Mention All-American status. Named team captain at Calvary Chapel High School, he registered a 43-1 mark in his final season. He also held the No. 1 ranking in the county through the entire season at 140 pounds and was ranked No. 3 by Amateur Wrestling News, W.I.N. Magazine, and InterMat. Through his four-year career, Jauregui posted a 126-21 record with 626 takedowns.

Now, in his final season with the Mountaineers, Jauregui has qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times, amassed more than 70 overall victories and twice was the runner-up at the EWL Championships. While the feats he has accomplished seem tremendous to anyone on the outside looking in, Jauregui still believes he has a lot to prove as a senior and knows that now is his time to make a mark on his illustrious career.

“I’ve still only been wrestling for half as long as some of the guys on this team, but I don’t consider myself young anymore,” Jauregui said. “If I want to be the best, I can’t say that I’m just inexperienced. I can’t make excuses because that doesn’t make champions. I just work hard and that’s where it starts. With the help of my coaches and with the knowledge that I have because I have been exposed to wrestling all over the world, I just try to critique myself and just try to get myself to be the best athlete I can be physically and best wrestler I can be technically, using my coaches. I train hard and I train like a champion. I train to win.”

And he has certainly trained to win – not only on the mat, but in life. He has overcome the test of moving to the opposite side of the continent, away from family and friends, and accepted a new and difficult challenge in wresting with open arms. Each battle Jauregui has been faced with, he has won. Believe the next time he is thrown into the fire, he will learn to adjust and as always, come out on top. Print View   Email