'Dogs' Borges loves nap-py time

Freshman wrestler has unique ritual that prepares him for matches

By Morgan Steger
The Collegian

LET BASEBALL PLAYERS HAVE THEIR lucky gloves, Fresno State wrestler Cory Borges has his own victory-assuring ritual — napping.

Borges, a freestyle wrestling All-American, always finds time to power nap between matches and said the few minutes of rejuvenation are a key component to his success on the mat. “It’s just a good time to relax,” he said. “I just take naps and try not to think about the bad stuff.”

So where exactly does Borges go to nap in the midst of tournaments swarming with wrestlers, coaches, officials and fans?

Anywhere he can cram his 121-pound body, he said, including the narrow space between two rows of bleachers.

Teammates have teased him about napping and photographed him in contorted positions but they also help support the habit by loaning him articles of clothing to use as makeshift pillows and making sure he wakes up in time for his next match.

“I guess that’s what calms him down,” said team captain Greg Gifford, who once let Borges use his sweater as a headrest. “If it works for him, he might as well keep doing it.”

With an 18-14 record in his first NCAA Division 1 season as a true freshman and All-American status, Borges said he has no plans to quit napping anytime soon.

In April, he earned his All-American honor at the FILA Junior National Tournament in Las Vegas, by defeating three opponents to place eighth in his weight class.

The experience validated all the two-hour and four-hour practices Borges put in throughout the season. “It gave me confidence,” he said. “I know I can hang in there with everyone.”

Borges has been wrestling competitively since he was 4 years old, he said. He got his start at a youth club in Fresno and continued to wrestle throughout high school, where he spent four years on the varsity team and earned high school All-American status his senior year.

Borges, a liberal studies major, said he decided to wrestle at Fresno State because his father, Rick Borges, whom he looks up to, was also a varsity wrestler at Fresno State. “Since I was a little kid that was a big thing to me, following in my father’s footsteps,” he said.

Instead of red-shirting his freshman season, Borges hit the mats ready to rumble so that he could learn how to wrestle his way to his future goal of a national championship the only way he knows how — through experience, he said.

Borges needs to compete to learn and said he knew practice alone wouldn’t be enough. “I didn’t feel that was my way of learning more,” he said.

Shawn Charles, Fresno State’s head wrestling coach, said he is impressed by the drive he sees in Borges in practice and competition. “He’s tough,” Charles said. “He’s 110 percent committed to the program. He’s always front and center making sure he’s pushing himself harder than anyone else in the room.”

Charles hopes to help Borges win a national championship as a Bulldog and said competing and winning at tournaments like the junior nationals is a step in the right direction, which someday might culminate in an Olympic or world title.

Borges said the coaching style at Fresno State suits him. “Its offensive, in-your-face wrestling,” he said. “It just matches the way I’ve always wrestled.”

Besides learning how to attack on the mat, wrestling has taught Borges self discipline, respect for others and how to train his mind to overcome the weaknesses of the body, he said. By pushing through muscle pain, fatigue and hunger, a wrestler’s constant companion during weight cutting, Borges has tested his limits. “Things are gonna hurt sometimes,” he said.

But there’s something about having his hand raised in victory that seems to make the pain dissipate, Borges said.

“It just lets you know all of the hard work is paying off.”

And if that doesn’t work, there’s always a nap.

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