SANTA ANA – Joey Daniel was in survival mode at last year’s CIF state wrestling tournament.
The week before, at the CIF-SS Masters Meet, the Santa Ana sophomore advanced to the finals, eventually losing to Danny Salas of St. John Bosco.
At the state tournament, Daniel lost his second match on the first day, which dropped him to the consolation bracket.
Knowing that one more loss would end his season, Daniel survived the first day by winning his next two matches.
The second day began in what is commonly known as the “blood round.” Win that match and you’ve secured a spot in the top 8 and a spot on the medal stand.
Daniel fell behind early to Noe Garcia of Gilroy and dropped a 4-2 decision, ending his season in the Top 12 in the state at 195 pounds.
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Last year’s disappointment has turned into this year’s motivation for Daniel. Now a junior, he entered this season ranked fifth in the preseason state rankings.
“I dream about it sometimes,” Daniel said of the loss to Garcia. “It gave me that extra push to train harder and harder. The offseason has been pretty tough. The coaches have been seeing a lot of improvement.”
Daniel comes from a wrestling family, as four of his older brothers, Danny, Romero, Johnny and Sammy Sanchez, all were competed at the lightweight level for Santa Ana.
“I wanted to try football and I did this year, but I didn’t like it,” Daniel said. “I missed beating up people. I like competing. In football, there are other people on the field. But in wrestling, it is just you and the other guy on the mat.”
His wrestling career has shown steady improvement.
As a freshman, Daniel went 2-2 at the Masters Meet. Last year, he won a CIF-SS title, helped the Saints to a CIF-SS title and finished second at Masters.
“Last year was tough,” he said. “They (the coaches) saw a lot of potential in me and they worked on me.”
That work is just a part of the reason why Daniel is where he is now.
“He was kind of a little chubby kid,” Santa Ana coach Scott Glabb said of Daniel as a freshman. “It seemed like this (wrestling) was just for fun. He had a different attitude until he started becoming real successful and started seeing what the potential was for him to place in state.”
Daniel’s ultimate goal this season is to finish in the top three at the state tournament.
“This year is a whole different level,” Daniel said. “Last year, Five Counties really showed me where I was at. It was tiring, no match was easy.”
Daniel finished seventh at Five Counties last year.
Glabb said he’s seen Daniel’s leadership skills improve as well as his mat work.
“I’ve seen improvement in attitude and leadership,” Glabb said. “He’s taking charge of running the day-to-day warm-ups and getting on top of kids about their responsibilities. He’s one of those guys that can compete. He steps on the mat, he’s a great competitor, so we’ve seen the intensity come up.
“He might not be the best practice room guy, but he knows when it is time to compete and he gives 100 percent on the mat, so I’ll take that. He’s on the right track in regard to training and attitude and the effort he’s putting in.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@scng.com
