James Medeiros is Taking the Los Angeles City Section A Level Up

Emerald City

Medeiros continued his mat career at Fresno State and during his tenure as a Bulldog, he earned two trips to the NCAA Division I Nationals and placed four times at the Western Regional Conference. For the past several years, Medeiros has had great success competing in the Veteran’s division, thus winning several national level titles and earning a Bronze medal at the Veteran’s World Championships in Bulgaria.

I have always said that the Los Angeles City Section is a gem and has the great potential to be among the top areas of wrestling in California. Especially when the current population is nearing 19 million!

All it needs is a dedicated coach to bring in a system of wrestling that will attract many and capitalize on its great potential.

Much like the quote from the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come”, it is taking place in the city of Van Nuys.

Entering his ninth season as Head Coach at Birmingham High School, Medeiros has truly done an outstanding job thus far and has brought in a system that has produced many section, state, and national level wrestlers. For instance, this season he had Jonovan Smith reach the CIF State finals, as well as win a Junior National title in freestyle (Double All-American), Katie Gomez (Double AA), Jerzie Estrada and Gregor Cholakyan earn All-American status in Fargo. In essence, Medeiros has proven that his system of wrestling is a formula for success and as a result is taking Birmingham High School and the Los Angeles City Section to another level. You could say, he has built the wrestling mat and many have come.

Getting Personal

I have known James Medeiros for many years and have been witness to his wrestling journey thus far.

Back when I was coaching in the late 90’s, I recall watching him battle match after match at Cadet Greco State in a weight group that had close to 130 entrants. I believe he had 9 or 10 matches that day. His competitive spirt is evidence to his great success, both as a competitor and now as a coach. More recently, I had the opportunity to talk to James about his wrestling career, coaching, and life. Below is my Q&A. Enjoy!