By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Several Munford Cougar wrestlers have reached the State Tournament.
The list of three-sport athletes at the school reads like a Who’s Who. And under the guidance of Munford Track coaches Benard Ivie and Thomas Walters, countless Cougars have reached the State Track Meet. But only one male student who walked the halls of Munford High School can claim this distinction — being a State track champion.
Back in May when Christian Perez stood atop of the podium in the Brentwood High School Stadium, he officially left a legacy at his alma mater. That accomplishment also netted Perez an official offer from LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis to compete in track.
June was time for Perez to accept the offer, sign his letter of intent and celebrate with family members mom Migdalia Cruzx, siblings Zamira, Dylan and Jeremiah. Also present at his signing ceremony at Munford were his aunt Taini Cruz and cousins Taina and Amarelia.
“I’m heading to LeMoyne-Owen College,” Perez declared. “It feels amazing to be wanted and praised by an Olympic medalist, that’s where I want to be one day hopefully.”
Olympic gold medalist Rochelle Stevens is the head coach of the Magician Track program. The Memphis native won a silver medal in 1992 and was a part of the 4x400m relay team to win the gold in 1996.
Once Dr. Stevens got word of Perez’s first place finish in the 2022 Class AA State Decathlon, she was on the horn to Tipton County.
“It’s not very often you get a phone call at 10 in the morning on a Saturday from someone who has an Olympic gold medal,” Walters recalled. “When Dr. Rochelle Stevens called and talked to Christian about the offer, it was huge and big.”
Not bad for an athlete who didn’t know what the Decathlon was a few months ago.
“At first I didn’t even know what it was,” Perez acknowledged. “It’s was my first year knowing what the decathlon was.
“I am always up for the challenge no matter what it is,” he continued. “I just went forward with it. No matter what’s in front of me, I always go toward it.”
Walters said looking at Perez’s profile as a football player, State qualifying wrestler and a field athlete, he had faith in his potential to be a solid decathlete.
“I didn’t ask him,” Walter recalled. “I just told him. He’s just a good all around athlete. He already knew how to triple jump and long jump. He knew how to run the hurdles, which is a big one. He’s strong enough and athletic enough to do the throws. So basically the only thing he really had to get some specialized training in was the pole vault.”
Munford Head Wrestling Coach David Cline said once Christian takes on a challenge, he has an inner drive that is unmatched.
“He’s the most extreme,” Cline said with a smile. “It was obvious Perez has a lot of heart. Every coach always says that’s the one thing you can’t coach that you want your kids to have a lot. He has an abundance of that. No matter what he did, playing football, wrestling or running track, you could see the desire he had to win. He pushes himself very hard to do that.”
Perez was close to being a State champ in two sports this year. Perez suffered a defeat in the second round. Later Perez advanced to take on Perry Roller from Tennessee High School. Roller picked up the win ending Perez’s day.
Perez turned his attention that day to his friend and teammate Wemawamungu Moktani. The athlete known as Mo took home the State title back in February in the 132-pound weight division.
“They came in here together their freshman year and were practice partners for all four years,” Cline said. “Both of them being competitive pushed them to get better. The benefit was Mo is more of a tough guy. He relies more on his strength to win. He’s super strong for a kid his size. Where Perez is more of a technical guy.
“That kind of offset for them,” he continued. “Perez who didn’t rely on his strength as much, had to learn how to beat someone who was stronger than him. Mo had to learn how to beat somebody more technical than him. It was a perfect fit.”
Perez said the days on the mat battling Moktani shaped his skills and character to reach this milestone in his life.
“Wrestling has helped me a lot by helping my awareness get up,” he said. “The way I perceive things, it’s helped me all around. Disciple definitely.
Mo pushed me more than anybody else has ever had in the past four years than anyone I met here at Munford High,” Perez added. “He’s my brother and enemy at the same time. But he pushed me to be the better man that I am today. Without him my work ethic wouldn’t be as high.”
While happy for his friend’s accomplishment, Perez left Franklin that day feeling his overall goal of leaving a legacy at Munford was incomplete.
“It motivated me a lot at the end of the wrestling season; it all went downhill from there,” he acknowledged. “I had to reset my mind, ‘It’s my last chance to get a scholarship for anything. Or even get an offer for college. This is my last chance.’ It’s where it got me… right here.”
Walters and Ivie knew one of the keys to Perez’s success is having a partner to push him. Enter the picture junior Jace Hodgin.
“Christian is just a great leader,” Cline said. “The kids follow him and he pushes everybody really hard. He sets a high bar and sets a good example to the kids around him.”
Like Perez learned from Cougar Wrestling legend Keegan Schulz, he left a high bar for underclassmen wrestlers Carter Sisco and Tyler Hanner.
In track Perez left a high standard for Hodgin.
“He pushed me a lot because there were events I had I was better than him,” Perez recalled. “There were events he had he was better than me with. So we both pushed each other in those opposite events to get better. We ended up one and two.”
Perez dominated the field May 19-20 at Brentwood High School winning with 5,374 points. His nearest competitor was his teammate and friend Hodgin with 4,997 points.
“I am not really one to talk about what I did and what I didn’t do,” Perez said. “I just really put the work in and let my work ethic speak for me.”
Walters said through all the adversity and challenges, Perez left several who will testify on his behalf about his greatness.
“Just a good sense of accomplishment for him, come through all the COVID years and overcome adversity,” he said, “to be there as a State champion after four years of work in event he didn’t even plan on doing this year. That’s pretty big.
“I would like to say I have a lot of pride in him,” Walters continued. “But I hope he has a lot of pride in himself for the accomplishment he did. I can coach this and coach that. But he’s the one who has to step up and actually perform. He has to step to the line and beat the guy right next to him, out jump the guy. He met every challenge and did it — in 10 events. That’s not easy.”
Prior to Walter’s challenge that landed Perez a scholarship at LeMoyne-Owen, it was a declaration made to himself that got the ball rolling to a legacy-defining accomplishment.
“In my high school days I had some dumb decisions I had made,” he acknowledged. “Over the years I matured and I started thinking to myself, ‘What am I going to leave behind? What are people going to think of me when I leave?’
“It just got in my head I want to be somebody,” Perez concluded. “I want them to know my name because of what I do, what I left behind.”
