Riverdale High School senior Ike Clinton (right) takes down his opponent. (Photo submitted)
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Three Riverdale wrestlers have taken the name Warrior seriously.
For these three Warrior seniors, the next step in their career will not take place on the mat, but on the battlefield as Ike Clinton, Cole Franks and Brennan Davaloz will each be heading to The Citadel as a trio.
“We made a joint decision to go to college together,” Davaloz said.
“They are pretty much my brothers, we have been in the JROTC Raiders together since our freshman year,” Clinton added.
Besides his band of brothers, Clinton also has family members in the military. His uncle has fought in Afghanistan and worked for the U.S. Department of Defense. His older brother, Kevin LeMar, is a U.S. Secret Service Agent, and his other brother, Phillip LeMar, is a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in Iraq.
Clinton said he wants to continue the tradition at The Citadel, by starting training for the U.S. Navy Seals. He said he also wants to get into computer engineering.
Currently, Clinton has been turning heads with his performance on the wrestling mat this season. In only his second year wrestling and in a different weight class, he has an impressive 31-10 record.
On Thursday, he was the opening match in the 160-pound division against Oakland High School junior Rico Covington, who was at 170. It was a back-and-fourth affair, but Clinton quieted the Oakland student body that filled up the school’s gymnasium with a pin in the final round.
Coming into the round, the score was tied at 11 after several near escapes by Covington during the match.
“It’s definitely different wrestling in front of a full crowd,” Clinton said. “It’s even more motivation with everyone cheering against you. I just wanted to get a victory for my teammates.”
Last year, Clinton wrestled in the 170-pound weight class. However, he dropped down to the 160-pound weight class for this season. He said there has been a big learning curve with changing weight classes.
Clinton said he hopes to do well in the regional tournament and qualify for his first state berth, adding he feels that his team is very deep, and they could have several wrestlers do well in the postseason.
“We have a lot of guys that have a good chance of going to state this year,” Clinton said.
Franks, who Clinton calls his “brother,” also has family ties to the military.
His grandfather fought in the Vietnam War, and other family members also have military experience.
The Riverdale senior is currently out with an injury and did not wrestle against Oakland.
This is his first year wrestling, and he finished third in a tournament at Smyrna earlier this season.
Franks said he wants to get into the U.S. Army Special Forces while in college. He added wrestling has helped him prepare for the military.
“It taught me not to give up. It also teaches you to reach down inside and see what you got,” Franks said.
Out of the three, Franks is the one who has the transportation that the threesome uses to go work out. The group said most of their training consists of a lot of running and swimming.
“Working out together really helps us push each other,” Davaloz said. “We really help each other out.”
Davaloz, who is also out with an injury, said he hopes to be back before the upcoming regional tournament. He is also in his first season on the squad.
Davaloz said he hopes to enter the Navy Seals just like Clinton, adding his main focus at the next level is taking leadership and character building courses.
He noted the three of them were real excited when they all received acceptance letters from the The Citadel, which is located in South Carolina.
Although each of the three has a special path in mind to help defend Americans, at least in the meantime, they will be doing it together. |
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