PHOENIX — "It feels like I'm living in a dream right now," Anthony Robles, the former ASU national wrestling champion, said. "To be able to come back here and just give back to the next generation at this school, this is something I've always dreamed about."
A dream come true, for a man whose resume is one that dreams are made of. Anthony Robles became a wrestling phenom after his freshman year at Mesa High, despite being born with only one leg.
"It was challenging," Robles said. "But those challenges made me stronger."
Robles' fighting spirit took him to heights he had always dreamed of despite his physical limitations. Robles is a three-time Pac-12 champion wrestling at Arizona State and a three-time All-American.
Not only that, but Robles won the National Championship back in the 2010-2011 season while competing for ASU. His dominance never wavered as he boasted a 129-15 career in high school, going 96-0 his final two seasons when we won state titles.
The college level was no different for Robles as he competed in the 125-pound weight class, going a perfect 36-0 during his final season with the Sun Devils.
Now Robles is hoping to inspire a future generation and to show anything is possible on and off the wrestling mat.
"I think that just going through the things that I did, now, as a head coach, I have a lot of examples that I can share with these kids," Robles said. "I've been where you've been and I know we all have challenges but there's always light at the end of the tunnel."
Robles is now replacing David DiDomencio, who led the Jackrabbits the last 7 seasons when they won three state titles during that span. A chance for Robles to continue to remind his students and himself, the impossible is nothing and the success will follow.
"You might get knocked down, or you might be struggling on the mat in the classroom and in your life, but there's hope," Robles said."It doesn't matter how tired you are, how bad you're getting beat, if there's time on that clock, you got an opportunity to win and it's the same in life."
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