Cree Garza WA: Follow My Heart
Follow My Heart
Featuring Cree Garza WA
By Bill X. Barron
Heart is the ability to call upon your best, even when it feels like you have no more left to give. Heart is essential to success in even the most challenging circumstances.
Yet, true heart is not something a coach can imbue; it is a quality of life that each person must uncover within oneself by exploring their fullest but unrealized potential.
Nine-year-old wrestler Cristo Rey Garza III of Cheney, Washington, known as “Cree,” has only wrestled for a year and a half. Recently, a competitor’s coach asked him how it is that he has improved so dramatically from when he first began. Cree’s simple but poignant answer: “My heart.”
Cree’s father, Chris, is a coach and confidant. He asserts, “I wanted Cree to try wrestling because I know from experience that the sport, like no other, builds leadership, affirms character, and prepares you to take ownership of your challenges.”
“Winning or losing is not the ultimate objective,” Chris continues. “The premise is to not shy away from challenge. Instead, one learns to turn obstacles into opportunities.”
Several local Washington entities have contributed to Cree’s rapid rise in the wrestling rankings. First and foremost, Mike Pursel of the Spokane Wrestling Club is “always very nice to me and encourages me to perform my best,” Cree expounds.
Pursel cites: “Cree entered my wrestling room as a bright-eyed, self-motivated young man. His goal from day one was to be a national champ. I know this because he told me so.
“The beginning of Cree's wrestling career was like many others; he was making mistakes and figuring out his style,” Coach Mike elaborates. “As we progressed through the winter season, though, I saw a fundamental change in his demeanor on the mat. He went from the experimental wrestler to a wrestler with a go-to action plan.
“This change was significant for his wrestling. Local competition was no longer a challenge as became a predominant force on the mat. For that spring season, we devised our plan to seek out competition at larger tournaments.
“RMN was our first stop. The tournaments offered a great draw for experienced wrestlers, and the trophies made the chase that much sweeter. Once again though, as the competition rose, so did Cree's dedication to his training.”
RMN Events has provided a meaningful platform for Cree to grow. “Cree would not be where he wants to be without the opportunity to test himself against the best wrestlers from all over the country,” Chris reflects. “When he then competes in local tournaments, we see the difference RMN has made.”
Since entering his first RMN tournament exactly one year ago at the Aztec Warrior Championships in New Mexico, Cree has won nine titles out of a possible ten at 8U 62 pounds in the Rookie Division, while leading all competitors vying for this year’s RMN Rookie of the Year.
At the same tournaments, Cree has further challenged himself by competing in the regular 8U 62-lb. weight bracket, in which he is in the running for the RMN Triple Crown (three titles in different states, plus first place at the Rocky Mountain National Championships) and Golden Gear (four championships).
Cree approaches his schooling with a similar tenacity. In kindergarten, Cree attended a private school, Covent Christian Academy. When the school assigned 18 Biblical verses to study, of all the students in Grades K-6, Cree was the only one to memorize every single one.
“We most appreciate RMN as a Christian-based business,” states Chris. “God is the true guide for our wrestling journey.”
The most meaningful Bible verse for Cree is Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. “Dad and I say a prayer before every tournament. We pray for the courage to fight hard, the strength to finish, and His hand to keep us safe.”
Now in 3rd grade, he reads at a 6th-grade level. After scoring above the 90th percentile in cognitive ability, academic aptitude, verbal acquisition, and mathematics proficiency, Cree was invited to participate in the school’s Highly Capable advanced classes.
rvey Curtis teaches at Snowdon Elementary School. He relates: “Cree is an exceptional young man. His competitiveness and desire to do well are quality traits I wish all my students possessed. With his academic responsibilities, I see the same drive as he applies to his athletic endeavors.”
“Of the highest importance to us as parents,” explains Marisol, is for Cree to develop a consistent work ethic in academics as well as wrestling. Although he misses 15% of the school year due to leaving on Fridays for tournaments and returning late Sunday night, Cree is ready and excited for school on Monday morning.”
On afternoons and evenings, Cree is always practicing somewhere in the Spokane region because “he is willing to sacrifice time with friends, such as missing their birthday parties, in order to maximize his potential.”
Yet, at the same time, Marisol continues, “Kids at school gravitate toward him. Cree looks for the kid who may feel left out.” Cree adds, “It makes me feel good. As my teacher once told me: ‘Treat people how you want to be treated’.”
Cree’s mom, Marisol, is “so proud to witness his growth as a young man. Wrestling has helped him develop friendships he would not have had without the sport. He’s not that timid kid anymore.
Cree now has friends all over the country. “It’s ingrained in the nature of the sport. Some of his opponents are his closest allies off the mat. Cree is even known to other coaches who greet him by name.”
As Chris declares, “You always represent not just yourself but also your team and family.”
Coach Pursel opens his gym so that Cree can train with his father anytime, day or night. Asserts Chris: “No matter how far we travel to train or compete, we always return to our home club because we want to help Mike do for other kids what he has done for us.”
“Our club practices year-round, four days a week. Cree was there every single day,” Pursel relates. “The only time I did not see him was when he was traveling to a competition.”
To train for freestyle and Greco, the Garzas work with Brian Owen, a three-time NCAA Qualifier for Boise State (2008-14), now heading up the Inland Northwest Wrestling Training Center (INWTC).
oach Owen “lighted a spark” in Cree for the international style. In 2023, his very first season in the 8U competition, Cree made the podium at the state, regional, and national levels in freestyle and Greco. At the USA Kids Nationals in Utah, he finished 3rd in Greco and 6th in freestyle.
In addition, Cree works out at the Northwest Elite Fight Team facility owned by his personal trainer, Anthony Hamlett, who was a 3-time NCAA place-winner for the US Air Force Academy (1992-96), competed as an MMA fighter, and now serves as one of the top MMA referees.
Cree is knowledgeable as well as talented. Chris proclaims that “when I want a rule explained, I can go to Cree for answers. He has expressed interest in becoming a referee someday.”
Chris comments that “every kid should wrestle and have the opportunity to grow through the one-on-one nature of the sport. In fact, Cree has gotten his 3-year-old sister Morgan interested in wrestling.”
Successful wrestling involves the ability to process situations, and then refine techniques to achieve greater success. Following a tough loss in the Reno World finals, Cree’s first words were, “I need to work on my whizzer.”
Dad knows from personal experience that “you learn to finish, to never quit. Wrestling will develop Cree into a better person, not defined by wins or losses, but through the character he builds.”
Coach Pursel knows a diamond in the rough. “I look forward to where Cree ends up in life. With dedication like his, he will succeed in whatever pursuit he sets his mind to.”