Hickman holds it down

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers AS TOUGH AS THEY COME—Camarillo High junior Matt Hickman is one of the top 145-pound wrestlers in California. He enters this weekend’s Pacific View League Finals with a 32-4 record. Matt Hickman is a scrapper. A fighter. A tireless worker.

“I guess I’m just a mat rat,” Hickman said.

A junior on the Camarillo High wrestling team, Hickman is enjoying a fine encore to a sensational sophomore season.

Hickman enters Saturday’s Pacific View League tournament with a 32-4 overall record and a No. 4 ranking among all 145pound grapplers in California.

One match away from reaching the medal round at the state tournament in Bakersfield last year, Hickman has visions of making a repeat visit to the biggest stage.

For now, it’s about the work.

“I feel I’m doing okay,” the 17-year-old said. “There’s always room for improvement. I have to work every day. Never have a lazy day.”

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers SIZE HIM UP—Camarillo’s Matt Hickman, right, battles a teammate. Coaches and teammates are impressed with the effort Hickman puts day in and day out in the room.

“He’s self-motivated, and that’s a big thing for wrestlers,” said Camarillo head coach Ron Wilson. “Coaches can only carry you so far.”

Sophomore Trent Meline, a 140-pounder, said he’s picked up an assortment of moves from working out with the junior. He also said Hickman tries to set the tone for the rest of the team.

“He’s a good example,” Meline said. “When everybody else is not working as hard, he’s always working his hardest. He’s a good leader. In that way, he’s inspirational.”

Hickman was the first athlete to reach the state tournament as a sophomore during Wilson’s 18year tenure guiding the Scorpions.

The junior’s currently ranked second in the CIF-Southern Section for 145-pounders— Arroyo’s Noel Blanco is first— but Hickman beat Blanco earlier this season at the prestigious Five Counties Wrestling Championships in mid-January.

The grappler credited teammates and coaches with his progression.

He said senior Truman Sipes and assistant coach Frank Bifulco help him during his daily workouts.

“I like Coach Wilson,” Hickman said. “A lot of coaches scream a lot. You can see he’s intense by looking in his eyes. He doesn’t need to scream. He’s calm.”

That quiet intensity is reflected during practice.

Chatter is kept to a minimum as the wrestlers grunt, sweat and toil.

“We don’t have the energy to talk,” Hickman said. “We leave everything on the mat.”

Wilson said Gabe Mondragon, Daniel Kodama, Sipes and Meline have been wrestling well for the Scorpions.

Once Hickman takes an opponent down, that person has a better chance of escaping the clenched jaws of a Komodo dragon.

The junior excels at working on his feet, but he said he wants to improve all facets of his game.

“I want to just improve at everything, even the things I’m good at,” he said.

Hickman was a middle linebacker for the football team. Even though the team was winning, he stepped down midseason in the fall to concentrate on academics and wrestling.

He said leaving the football squad was one of the hardest decisions he’s ever had to make.

“I’m 5-foot-5 and a half with my shoes off,” Hickman said. “I felt like expectations were so high for wrestling that I wasn’t doing enough for it. I had to make a sacrifice.”

The junior has a background in Jujutsu and Muay Thai, a martial art that’s similar to kickboxing. His favorite class at ACHS is chemistry with John Gonzalez.

Hickman’s sister, Megan, is a sophomore who keeps the team’s wrestling statistics during matches. Their older sister, Ashley, graduated Camarillo in 2006. The grappler’s father, also Matt, wrestled and played football at Camarillo before graduating in 1984.

Hickman stressed to the Camarillo Acorn that he loves his mother, Louisa.

“I’m a momma’s boy,” he said. “No offense, Dad.”

With the regular season and dual meets in the rearview mirror, Hickman’s postseason is just beginning.

“It’s crunch time,” he said. “This is where it matters. Everyone’s record is 0-0 again.”