Kamari Baldelomar, senior at San Dimas High school, was once a little kid with a great passion for wrestling, but that all changed when high school pressure hit. He talks about the struggle of keeping up with academics and personal life, all with a withering passion for a high pressure sport like wrestling.
Since he was six, senior Baldelomar has always known wrestling as a constant in his life, so naturally he continued his journey in high school as a wrestler. Junior year he became captain of the team and consistently won matches left and right. “I find pockets throughout the day to manage school work, school is a priority” Baldelomar said is his method to balancing academics and sports. Throughout his high school career, Baldelomar managed to maintain good grades all while going to three hour practices everyday which entailed both weight lifting and actual wrestling. Baldelomar expressed that his biggest achievement in wrestling is being placed 36th place overall in the State of California in his weight class. He reflects on the challenges he faces during wrestling‒both mental and physical,
“The method for cutting weight is water loading because it’s easier to lose later on,” Baldelomar says. For him, one of the hardest challenges physically is having to cut weight. If you are a little above your weight class, there is an automatic disqualification, despite preparing for weeks before. Baldelomar made it to the Masters meet 2025, which had been his goal all season; despite training for weeks before and strictly watching his weight, he was over by one ounce and was disqualified from the meet.
Baldelomar said. He reflects that wrestling is just as much a mental battle as physical because of instances like this, falling short of goals and having to cope with it afterward.
As Baldelomar looks into the future, he doesn’t see his wrestling career progressing after high school. “Freshman year I was super excited and happy to be at practice, but over the years of the wear and tear on my morale, I started to lose a passion for this sport,” Baldelomar says. He reflects that there is more to life than wrestling. Outside of wrestling, Baldelomar loves being around his family, spending as much time with them as he can. In his free time, he likes to explore nature with his friends and eat good food, especially pasta.
Beyond high school, Baldelomar hopes to go to a college in San Diego to potentially become a nurse. “I know it’s not really normalized to be a male nurse, but I want to become one,” Baldelomar says. He has been volunteering as Casa Colina since December of 2024 in order to gain experience in nursing. Baldelomar says that wrestling has brought him many memories and experiences as well as taught him many life lessons, but he is excited to see what his next chapter is beyond it.
