Cade Olivas is widely considered one of the best youth wrestlers in the nation. This article delves into his impressive wrestling record and journey, highlighting his achievements and potential future in the sport.
Early Acclaim and National Recognition
St. John Bosco wrestling has welcomed another phenom in Cade Olivas, who is widely considered the best youth wrestler in the nation. According to Youth1.com, which ranks Olivas No. 1, the eight-grader posted an astounding 292-1 record en route to claiming his seventh consecutive national championship in 2012. Olivas is coming off winning another title, taking home an ASICS Open Championship this past weekend in Las Vegas.
In 2012, Olivas posted an impressive record of 292-1 and won his 7th consecutive National Championship when he took home the 80-pound title at the Cliff Keen Tulsa Nationals. The multiple time California State Champion also defended his Super 32 championship this past October when he won the 85-pound title with an 11-5 victory over Anthony Madrigal from Illinois.
“He is the best (youth) wrestler in the country. There is nobody better than him,” said Bosco head coach Omar Delgado.
Choosing St. John Bosco
The decision came down to Bosco or all the way across the country in New Jersey at Blair Academy, considered the top wrestling program in the nation, regularly laying claim to a No. 1 ranking and producing champions year after year. But that doesn’t mean it was just two schools vying for Olivas.
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In addition to the academics that a private school like Bosco offers, the environment created by the championship-caliber wrestlers that were associated and in the Braves’ program was too much to pass up. It also helped that the wrestlers Olivas wanted to follow, were the kids he grew up wrestling with in the Valencia brothers, Dominguez and Pico.
“We got calls from everywhere up and down the nation,” said Ruben Olivas, Olivas’ father. But as Ruben and Olivas said, the distance was too much to overlook for the four-year commitment.
“I look up to the that,” said Olivas, the Fontana resident who was beating 10 and 11-year-olds as just a 5-year-old.
Achievements and Accolades
Olivas' talent is not limited to national accolades. The 2013 Cadet National Freestyle and Greco-Roman Duals annually features some of the top wrestling talent in the country. During the Freestyle portion of the event, Olivas was one of 39 wrestlers to earn All-Tournament Team status. In the Greco-Roman event, Olivas again helped lead Team California to a 9th place finish by posting a perfect 9-0 record. With a combined record of 16-0, Olivas was one of two wrestlers to finish the event with the most wins between the two events.
Competing on Team California, Olivas earned honors on both the Freestyle and Greco-Roman All-Tournament teams.
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Youthee Award Nomination
Voting for the 2013 Youthee Award for most outstanding wrestler, presented by Youth1 Media, is now open to the public. Youth1 is recognizing four young wrestlers for their outstanding accomplishments this season. Cade Olivas (CA) are the four individuals that have been selected for this honor.
Register at Youth1.com in order to cast a vote for the most outstanding youth wrestler of 2013. Registered voters are permitted to cast one vote per day until the voting period concludes at midnight EST on March 22.
Who's #1 Event
Since its inception in 2013, Who's #1 has become one of the best high school wrestling events in the nation. Olivas (California) dec Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania), 3-1 in 2014 at 106lbs.
Here's a summary of the Who's #1 event results from 2013 to 2020:
| Year | Location | Notable Matches |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Grace Hall, Lehigh University | Jordan Oliver dec Bubba Jenkins, 7-2 |
| 2014 | Grace Hall, Lehigh University | Cade Olivas (CA) dec Gavin Teasdale (PA), 3-1 (106lbs) |
| 2015 | Grace Hall, Lehigh University | Gable Steveson (MN) dec Jordan Wood (PA), 5-4 (220lbs) |
| 2016 | Grace Hall, Lehigh University | Cody Brewer tech fall Tony Ramos, 12-0 |
| 2017 | Grace Hall, Lehigh University | Gracie Figueroa (CA) dec Macey Kilty (WI), 6-4 (125lbs) |
| 2018 | Grace Hall, Lehigh University | Richard Figueroa (California) dec Jacob Decatur (Ohio), 1-0 (106lbs) |
| 2019 | Carver-Hawkeye Arena, University of Iowa | Richard Figueroa (California) dec Stevo Poulin (New York), 8-1 (113lbs) |
| 2020 | Omni Hotel, Austin, Texas | Kylie Welker (Wisconsin) injury def. |
High School Career and Future Prospects
Next season Bosco will be aiming for their highest finish at the state level, with Zahid and Anthony looking to join the exclusive three-time state champion club, Dominguez hoping to move up the podium and Olivas starting his journey toward possible history.
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The addition of Olivas is another boost to an already powerhouse Bosco program. The Braves are coming off a sixth-place team finish at this year’s States (they finished fourth last year), claiming another small school state championship, powered by juniors Zahid and Anthony winning their second state titles and junior Joseph Dominguez placing sixth.
“Barring injury,” said Delgado. “I see Cade becoming the next four-time state champion.” That is a feat that has only been accomplished once in California history, done by Bakersfield’s Darrell Vasquez between 1999-02.
“That’s definitely some high goals I want to achieve,” said Olivas with a small laugh.