The Central Valley has long been recognized for producing premier wrestling talent. Schools like Clovis High School hold the record for most California Interscholastic Federation state titles in California with Buchanan High School as a close second.
The Valley’s dominance goes far beyond California, reaching a national stage. Buchanan High School ranks third in the country, Clovis High ranks 12th and Clovis North High School follows closely at 17, according to Sports Illustrated.
However, Fresno State does not have a Division I wrestling program, leaving athletes competing in high school with no choice but to leave the Valley.
Originally established in 1961, Fresno State’s wrestling program faced its fair share of adversity despite its success. Having seen two shutdowns, one in 2006 and another in 2021, it has yet to return. 
During its time, the program produced a total of 34 All-Americans, including 2004 Olympic silver-medalist Stephen Abas.
The most recent cut happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the university announced it would be shutting down its wrestling program due to finances at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.
“Today’s decision is difficult for everyone, and yet it is a necessary step to ensure the financial viability of our Athletics Department,” said Joseph I. Castro, Fresno State’s president at the time, in a statement.
However, despite that justification, it affected many wrestlers, including those in the program at the time.
“They brought us into a five-minute meeting over Zoom and told us the program was cut,” said Jacob Wright, a former Fresno State wrestler who was with the program for three years. “That was it.”
Wright, a Valley native, was also one of Fresno State’s early recruits after the program was reinstated back in 2017. After the shutdown, Wright was forced to transfer to the University of Wyoming. He believes Fresno State did not just lose the program, but lost an entire community.
“It gave you a bigger purpose to wrestle, because you were representing the Central Valley and the people who watched you grow up got to see you compete at the Save Mart Center,” Wright said. “When I transferred, it took a little bit of my ‘why’ away. I still loved the sport, but it wasn’t the same.”
That sense of community didn’t just stay at the college level. It carried over to younger wrestlers in the Valley, where guys like him would help train and guide the next group coming up.
One of those wrestlers is Clovis North’s former No. 1 in the country and current state champion, Jonathan Rocha.
“Wrestling is huge out here,” Rocha said. “Everyone in the Central Valley knows it; there’s tradition and history behind it. Fresno State took away something special; a D-I wrestling team is 30 spots. That’s 30 kids that won’t get a Division I opportunity. That’s not a small number, especially with how much talent there is in the Central Valley.”
Local wrestlers like Rocha are now forced to look out of state to continue their collegiate careers. However, that’s not an opportunity every wrestler has.
“Not everyone can just leave the state or afford to go somewhere else, even if they have the talent,” Rocha said.
Rocha’s coach at Clovis North, Gabe Flores, believes that this causes issues far beyond the sport.
“Wrestlers are built different,” Flores said. “When I look at my guys, we do our own fundraising, we work hard to make sure we have the funds for our teams. Those guys at Fresno didn’t even get given that opportunity.”
For Flores, the issue is no longer about Fresno State losing their wrestling program, but what that loss means to a community known for hard work and opportunity. The absence of Fresno State’s wrestling takes away a crucial step for many athletes, leaving them without a clear path and putting into question not only how far they are willing to go, but whether they’ll have a chance to go at all.
