Wrestling
Favorite athlete: Cole Hamels
Favorite team: Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning my first wrestling tournament.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Tripping on the mat while running out to wrestle.
Music on iPod: Swedish Heavy Metal – Sabaton and Hammerfall
Future plans: Go to college for computer science
Words to live by: “If you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against the odds.” – Jesse Jackson Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jessejacks462796.html#86xLAde2O10Ab827.99
One goal before turning 30: Pay off my college debt.
One thing people don’t know about me: I really like to draw and make art, even if I am kinda terrible at it.
By GORDON GLANTZ
Before wrestling became his full-time focus, Quakertown’s Lucas Garges was all about swimming.
While he’ll still take the plunge and use it as an ancillary form of training, swimming has now become more of a life metaphor for the senior.
There were times in his career where he felt as if were drowning. He then began to tread water but is now making the type of splash he always envisioned.
That was never more evident at the annual proving ground that it is the post-Christmas Bethlehem Holiday Classic at Bethlehem Liberty High School.
Garges placed seventh out of a field of 28 quality wrestlers in the 152-pound weight class and was feeling like he could go beyond last year’s appearance in districts.
“I did the best I ever did,” he said, shortly after the achievement. “I went 4-2 and finished in seventh place out of 28. That’s pretty good, I would say.
“(That made) me 9-2, and I started the season 7-0. For me, it’s been amazing. The season is going extremely well. The goal is to make states, and I think I can do it.”
For Quakertown coach Kurt Handel, Garges’ progression has been a pleasure to watch. Part of the joy is that he was anything from a finished product when he walked into the wrestling room three years ago.
“In an era of freshman phenoms, this is nice to see,” said Handel. “He has had time to shine. This is how it’s supposed to be.
“He was a typical freshman - a 14-year-old boy without much muscle definition on him. While he won a handful of matches, he took a beating. Now, he is 152 pounds of solid muscle.
“This year, he is doing quite well. He’s off to a real good start.”
Both Garges and Handel agree that it is more than physical growth that has turned his career around.
Garges was often his own harshest critic, putting undue pressure on himself and losing control of his emotions.
In wrestling, focus is everything and he was often letting it get away.
That was evident at Bethlehem, as Garges – who says he now “focuses on his strengths” on the mat -- lost his first match but stayed determined.
“The me of last year would have broken down, but I came back,” said Garges, who credited Daniel Reeves as being his personal “mentor” – along with his family and coaches – outside of school. “I never thought it would happen for me.”
But Handel had faith.
“We just had a talk after the match (for seventh place),” said Handel. “I told him that, in the past, he would have let his anger get the best of him. He’s learning how to control his frustration. Everyone matures at a different time.”
One thing is certain, when it comes to sinking or swimming in the sea of life, Garges will be voted least likely to drown.
He is a finalist for a National Merit Scholarship sponsored by UPS, where his father, Brian, is employed. Called “the complete package” by his coach, Garges is among the top students in the school. He is ranked in the top 20 percent, boasts a 3.8 GPA and a 1970 SAT score and has been offered academic scholarships to Elizabethtown and LeMoyne (located near Syracuse, N.Y.).
Garges plans to major in computer science and will not wrestle at the college level.
“It has been part of my life for 12 years, and I think that’s enough,” said Garges.
But he won't go away quietly.
Doing so would fly in the face of his maturation. Aside from personal goals, he takes the role of being one of the team captains seriously.
“Being a captain, for me, it’s really been great,” he said, adding – jokingly – that it meant he “didn’t lie” on his college applications made out last year. “It’s been a great honor. I really just try to motivate and encourage the other guys.”
As far as his coach is concerned, he could not ask for a better team leader.
“He’s not loud or boisterous,” said Handel. “He doesn’t need to be. He’s just a real positive person. He’s the first one to run sprints. He’s the first one at practice. He’s the first one willing to work with all the younger guys on the team.
“You’re talking about a young man who is an incredible student and outstanding wrestler, but also a good person with good moral values.
“When you think about what you want in a captain, he is the epitome of that.”
