By Richard Smith West Valley Preps

Caden Perez learned how to wrestle around the same time many of his peers were learning how to write.

His father, Rafael, wrestled in California and his children started early in the sport. Caden Perez remembers wrestling at age 4.

"Once I started walking and was able to comprehend things, my dad was like, ‘OK, let’s get you on the mat,’" Caden Perez said.

That early start and accelerated skill development set up the senior Sunrise Mountain wrestler for success early in his career. Perez was a surprise state 106-pound champion as a sophomore after entering the meet as the No. 8 seed.

Now, as his final months as a competitive wrestler loom, Perez wants to finish off with a second title.

"Then I can hang another poster in my room — another all-star moment of my high school wrestling career," he said.

He said he did not take to wrestling until around age 8. By junior high, he loved the sport.

Coach Steve Decker said Perez was an extremely tough wrestler is a freshman. The difference between his freshman year and sophomore year, Decker said, was the strength.

Perez said at times he felt tiny and overmatched as a freshman, but he qualified for state and won his first-round match.

"I didn’t like that feeling, so I changed up what I did — worked harder in practice, started lifting because I was small," he said.

While his performance improved, he had not won any tournaments heading into the 2016 state finals.

The sophomore’s toughest match in Division II may have been his first, a 10-9 win against senior Chris Espinoza from rival Liberty. From there, Perez knocked off top seed Jacob Arredondo from Avondale La Joya in the quarters and beat Marana Mountain View sophomore Javier Ortiz in overtime in the final.

"At state I got my groove after my first match, when I almost lost," Perez said. "It meant a lot. After I was done I went off the mat and back up into the stands. My dad said, ‘Do you hear all these people acreaming when you got the lateral?’ Then he showed me the video."

Decker said his win was, in a sense, surprising because he was a lower seed, due to a few tough losses throughout the season, But the Mustangs coaches knew Perez had that type of ability.

"We knew he was technical and strong enough as a wrestler so in the end him winning the state championship wasn’t too big of a surprise among our coaching staff," Decker stated in an email.

Suddenly, Perez was a junior with a target on his back at 113 pounds in Division III, as the Mustangs moved down.

He won the division at the Show Low tournament and said he enjoyed the trip to the snowy White Mountains.

"Going into his junior year there was just a big target on his back being the defending state champions," Decker stated. "At the state tournament he had some very tough competition and ended up taking third which is just an outstanding year."

Perez said he was winning his semifinal 4-1 when he got caught and pinned by Page senior Dante Gracia. He recovered to beat rival Anthony Schultz for third place.

"I shot a bad shot and he caught me on my back. And he was super strong," Perez said.

Perez is 19-2 this year with his only losses in the Show Low tournament at 113 pounds. After the break he will move down to 106 pounds, something Perez said he also did his sophomore year.

"It’s better for our team because I’m the closest to 106 and we have someone good at 113 and 126. So 126 will drop to 120, 120 to 113 and me to 106," Perez said.

Decker stated it is no longer unusual to see upperclassmen in the lightest weight class.

He believes the change is best for two main Mustangs goals, for Perez go out as a two-time state champion and for the team to place in the top three in the state tournament.

"He is not really a big guy and I think he was kind of a smaller 113 pounder last year so really we believe that 106 is where he should be and hopefully he can finish his career with another state championship," Decker said. "We also believe that with Caden at 106 and some of our other wrestlers where they should be, that really helps our chances to place high in the state tournament."

Perez said he’s already decided that either way, this will be it for competitive wrestling, He said it is hard to juggle wrestling and school. Also, Perez said he wants to study nursing, which requires a lot of clinical hours. Right now, he hopes to go to NAU.

In addition, he wants to win one more tournament closer to home before state.

"I want to get first at Peoria, since Peoria is the biggest tournament. I got second there my freshman year and fifth last year," Perez said.