‘Maya hero' gets letter jacket from teammates

Finally, the Columbus High wrestling team had enough.

For three years, teammates watched Hector Maya work his tail off in the wrestling room at every practice and every workout. They heard him talk about his passion for the sport. They also saw Maya stick his safety pins, which represent his pins on the mat, on a duffel bag.

But enough was enough.

That's how a conversation during first period weight lifting between Brandon Sohl, Evan Bohnet and Nick Hardesty turned into a tear-jerking ceremony at practice when they gave Maya a letter jacket.

Maya, or “Maya Hero” as his teammates call him, wanted a letter jacket since earning his first letter as a freshman at Madison. He never expressed his desire for a jacket to his teammates during the next three seasons at CHS, but they could tell.

“We got tired of seeing him for three years without a letter jacket,” senior Nick Hardesty said. “It hit us in the heart. It was something that he needs.”

After weightlifting, Sohl called his mother to see how much a jacket would cost. After a few more conversations and trip to Tweet's Sports Shop by Bohnet's mother, Robin, and the jacket was bought, stitched and ready for Maya by noon. The trio also enlisted the help of Steven Zayas and Seth Ziemba to collect money from the other wrestlers.

During practice, the wrestlers presented the jacket to a shocked Maya in an emotional ceremony.

“When we gave it to him, it was hard not to cry,” Ziemba said.

Maya said he was surprised and never expected the gift. He said even though he can only wear it one more week during wrestling season, it will display his prowess on the mat for much longer.

“Wrestling is more than a sport to me,” Maya said. “It shows that hard work can pay off in the end. I feel like one of the guys now.”

When Maya wears the jacket now, his teammates say he walks with a new air of confidence. He chest sticks out a little farther and he has a little more spring in his step.

Talk to Maya's teammates about him, and two themes keep popping up - heart and hard working.

“He goes as hard as he can go all the time. His work ethic has been unbelievable,” Columbus coach Rick Benson said. “I know he's very proud of (the jacket) and proud of the kids that did the extra thing for him.”

Examples of Maya's heart are quite easy to come by. In the final dual of the season, Maya dislocated a finger during the match, but kept competing. After Benson noticed the 119-pounder kept pulling at his finger he asked to have the trainer take a look - it was dislocated. Maya kept wrestling and eventually lost in overtime.

This weekend, Maya will get to strut around the Qwest Center in his jacket as he caps off his wrestling career in the state tournament. However, qualifying was no easy task.

Maya lost his first match 7-5 to Ben Peterson after scoring the first takedown. He rallied and pinned his next two opponents, including third-seeded David Perry of North Platte. With his state berth secured, Maya avenged the first-round loss with an 8-3 decision against Peterson.

No matter the outcome of the weekend, Maya's already proven his skill and passion for wrestling, and now he has the jacket to prove it.

“If wrestling was a battle of heart, he'd win state,” Sohl said.

The Items of the Week:

n Mad Props: Brandon Sohl, Columbus wrestling. The week started out with the CHS senior signing a national letter of intent Wednesday to play football, then he quickly takes care of business Saturday at district wrestling. The 285-pounder pinned all three of his opponents in less than three minutes, including the first-round victory which took just 15 seconds.

Honorable Mention: Brandi Prochaska, David City; Chad Brester, Howells wrestling; Rebecca Peterson, Twin River; Nick Hollatz, Leigh.

n Circle the Calendar: Lakeview, Scotus Central Catholic, Twin River at C1-6 subdistrict at Columbus High. The action starts Tuesday with a rematch of last week's exciting Monastery Road rivalry, but this time the season is on the line. Should Twin River pass its first test, it will set up a rematch. The Titans beat Lakeview by six, but lost to Scotus by 10 in the Columbus Holiday Tournament. After breaking through in softball last year, can the hardcourt Titans also position themselves for a state run? The opposite subdistrict lacks a dominant team, so it's likely Thursday's game could decide which team goes to state.

Other Games of Interest: Girls subdistricts: Howells and West Point Central Catholic at C2-5, Lindsay Holy Family and Prague at D2-2; Friday: Twin River boys at Humphrey St. Francis, Wahoo boys at Schuyler; Saturday: State wrestling finals.

n Working Halftime: Schuyler concession stand. Walk up to the booth and a nice display with wrappers and prices simplifies the selection process. Then they have plenty of workers who speed up the purchasing process. Also, a solid bag of popcorn puts the stand over the top.

n Questions of the Week: Terri Wilshusen of Humphrey correctly answered last week's question. She knew that Newman Grove swept the Cornhusker Conference tournaments in 1995 - the only non-Humphrey St. Francis sweep in the 18 years of the tourney.

This week: Columbus High enters the state wrestling tournament with two undefeated wrestlers vying for the state titles. Who were the last pair of Discoverers wrestlers to win state championships in the same year?

Lincoln Arneal is the sports editor for the Columbus Telegram. Contact him at larneal@columbustelegram.com with questions, comments, story ideas and how you plan on celebrating the best holiday in February today.