Wrestling:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

There is no sport at the high school level that takes more dedication, determination and discipline to survive and persevere quite like wrestling.

And that is certainly not a knock on physically and mentally taxing sports like swimming, water polo, long distance running and so on.

But after an all-day swim meet, water polo tournament or track meet, the competitors can head over to In-N-Out for a burger, fries and a shake or soda.

Not wrestlers.

After busting their asses at an all-day tournament, they have to go home, jog or other forms of cardio just to make weight for the next day.

As difficult and demanding as the sport can be, perhaps the early life challenges that faced Glendora senior Marquize Brown prepared him for this moment.

During his eighth-grade year, while living in Pennsylvania, his father Phillip Brown passed away.

His mother had personal issues that we won’t delve into, and Marquize and his three-year-old brother Phillip were put into foster care.

Out here in California, his grandma, Edith Brown, sought to take over the parenting role for her late son’s two children.

Unfortunately, the bureaucratic red tape took nearly two years from start to finish.

Finally, Marquize and Phillip got the chance to move 2,488 miles west to be with their remarkable grandmother.

Edith Brown works for the Glendora Unified School District in the Head Start program at Williams.

When the Brown boys got to Southern California, it was a culture shock.

Marquize went to a school in Patton, Pennsylvania, that includes grades 7-12, and totaled just 400 students.

With the love and guidance of his grandma, his values, and the admirable traits he inherited from his father, Marquize has always prioritized getting good grades, working hard and treating people well.

For the last two years, Brown has played football for Brandon Rohrer and wrestled for David Hester.

When Brown was in foster care, his friends at school talked him into going out for wrestling, and Marquize didn’t initially like the sport.

As he said in a phone interview on Monday night, “I didn’t have the discipline it takes to be successful in this sport, but it grew on me. I like the idea of the one-on-one aspect of wrestling, but while playing football, I also enjoyed being part of a team.”

Last year, Brown won the 160-pound Palomares League individual title.

And this past Saturday, he became a two-time league champ.

This time, it was at 170 pounds.

So far, Brown is 30-3, and two of the three losses came to the current No. 1 and No. 5 ranked kids in California at 170 pounds.

He will compete, along with his fellow Palomares League qualifiers, at this weekend’s CIF-SS Central Division individuals at Yucaipa High School.

Along with Brown, Glendora has another relatively new and rising star in the wrestling world, named Samantha Sachs, who in her first year in the sport qualified for state.

Sachs spoke to me on Monday night and described her buddy.

“Marquize moved here from Pennsylvania last year, and we bonded so quickly,” she said. “Our personalities clicked really well. He’s very athletic, hard-working, and supportive.  We were both learning together and doing so at a fast rate. It’s nice to have someone like that. He’s super fun to be around. He works hard at practice, and off the mat, he’s fun to be around. His drive to be better is obvious. What’s special about him is losing makes him get back into the wrestling room. What people should know about Marquize is that he’s got such a kind heart and puts everything he has into his teammates.”

What makes this kid so incredible is the fact that he has every reason to be bitter or angry at the world, and yet he’s a happy, caring, driven and appreciative for everything he’s got.

His character is on an even higher level than his athletic skills.

Bonita wrestling coach Rob Froh gave a perfect example to illustrate the point.

Froh led his program to a share of their first league (Palomares) championship since the second term of the Ronald Reagan administration.

Said Froh: “Before we wrestled them (Glendora) in league, I told him that he would be facing one of our JV kids that was bumping up to fill in that spot for the team and to please not hurt him. We kind of smiled and had a quick laugh. In their match, Marquize ended up pinning him pretty quickly, but he didn’t embarrass him or try and show him up. After the whole match was over, he went over to our kid and really tried to encourage him, saying it was awesome that he was trying to help his team by stepping up to varsity and even gave our kid some pointers. He is such a good, kind-hearted kid with the drive and determination of a warrior! I am really hoping he finishes his season strong.”

This photo took place right after his match at Bonita, where Brown and Froh smiled at one another.

Another Palomares League competitor, Grant Brunier, who led Ayala to their share of the league championship is also impressed.

“Marquize is an outstanding young man,” Brunier said.  “He’s hard-working and energetic.  He motivates his team with his energy.  He is attentive and works on anything that is brought to his attention.  He is always looking for things to help his wrestling.  His work speaks for itself, and I am excited to see how far he will go.”

Alta Loma coach, Jon Cerecerez, whose program also claimed their share of the Palomares said this about Marquize: “He is a great kid, hard working and motivated. Always respectful after matches. He knows what he wants and he’s going after it.”

Glendora coach David Hester said Brown is a great kid, athlete and student, and that he’s one of the rare breeds that takes coaching and criticism to heart, and uses it to become a better athlete and person.

Hester also said his grandma is the best influence possible on Marquize and 10-year-old Phillip.

“She’s the best and gives him stability, discipline and boundaries, and holds both boys to high standards,” he said. “He came to practice one day and said she took his phone away because he was texting late at night, and asked what I thought. And I told him she did the right thing, and Marquize nodded in agreement and went back to work. He’s appreciative of everything he has and takes criticism well.

When we first got him, it was all athleticism and shooting from space. The scary thing is that he’s got about 20-percent of his tool shed filled with wrestling moves and holds and he’s dominating on the mat. When he reaches that 80-percent full level, he’s going to be incredible. I think he has a lot of potential to succeed at the collegiate level. His skills, character, work ethic and always wanting to get better make him a steal for any coach.”

This past fall, despite missing three games to injury, Brown led the GHS ground game with 526 rushing yards on 109 carries, and seven rushing TD’s.

His closest friend on the team, Dion Skugrud said, “Marquize is a great friend and is always looking out for others. His mentality is that he always wants to get better. He’s always trying to get better. Marquize is always laughing and joking around, but when it’s time for work, he’s all business. I appreciate what a caring friend he is.”

On top of all of his athletic skills, he’s currently riding a 3.8 GPA, and he won’t be satisfied until it’s at the 4.0 level or higher.

He also chose to insert himself in the role of father-figure in his young brother’s life after the passing of their dad, and did so in his early teens.

There is no one that deserves more credit than the early influences of his father, Phillip, and his heroic grandmother, Edith Brown.

She has given Marquize and Phillip guidance, morals, high standards, accountability and most importantly, unconditional love.

“I love my grandma,” he said. “I would give her the world. She didn’t have to take care of us, but she chose to after raising six kids of her own. If I didn’t do well in school, she wouldn’t let me play sports. She’s also pushed me to be a better student, and because of that, I want to be the second member of my family to attend and graduate from college. My aunt Bianca got her degree and is going back for her Masters. That’s something that has driven me to chase my academic goals.”

Brown wants to wrestle in college and has talked to a few programs.

But his dream schools are Penn State and UCLA.

Marquize’s favorite wrestler is Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young.

Lastly, Brown wants his football and wrestling teammates and coaches know how much they’ve meant and how important they’ve been in his life and athletic career.

And that includes Coach, David Hester.

“I want Coach Hester to know how much he’s helped me throughout my wrestling journey, from picking me up for practice to taking me to so many tournaments and so many different places that I never would have experienced.”

To view some photos of Marquize, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook

Directly below, Marquize Brown wrestles the Bonita and Ayala 170-pounders.