San Jacinto’s Arturo Ojeda is IE Varsity’s Large Schools Boys Athlete of the Year

For the class of 2020, it was a surreal end to the senior year. For Arturo “A.J.” Ojeda Jr., things got very real right at the start.

Between the house fire that left him standing with nothing but his San Jacinto shorts and the pandemic-caused virtual graduation, Ojeda filled the space with a high standard of excellence.

As the anchor of San Jacinto’s offensive line in football, he helped a balanced and dangerous offense that helped the Tigers end Citrus Hill’s dominance of the Mountain Pass League. As a heavyweight in wrestling, he claimed a Northern Division championship and a seventh-place finish in the state tournament.

For his accomplishments in both sports, Ojeda has been chosen IE Varsity’s Large Schools Boys Athlete of the Year.

MORE: IE Varsity 2020 Athletes of the Year

However, the most important athletic feat of Ojeda’s senior year may have been the weightlifting he did when his only opponents were flames and time. He carried younger siblings and family members, as well as members of an upstairs family, when fire hit their duplex in September.

There was trauma. There was heroism. And there was Ojeda, at football practice the next day. Distracted, but still doing his work.

It was there that a special senior year began to truly take shape.

“After practice, I came in and there were 10 or 15 boxes of stuff,” Ojeda said. “And they said, ‘It’s all for you guys. I couldn’t keep it inside after that. It was the team saying, ‘We’ve got you.’ I couldn’t give up on that team after that.”

One of the first to help was Coach Aric Galliano, who literally gave the shirt off his back.Ojeda joked, “Coach is a big guy. I’m a big guy too, but he’s a lot taller. I put on that shirt and was like, ‘Dang, I’m in a dress.’ ”

On the field, Ojeda took to his role as the leader of the offensive line. Moved from guard to the key left tackle spot, he was the bodyguard for quarterback Kajiya Hollawayne and a convoy for the Tigers’ running backs.

“I love playing tackle,” Ojeda said. “It’s a lot more one-on-one matchups and those are so much fun. No help. No pushing off to someone else.”

It’s more of a wrestlers’ mentality, which Galliano appreciates.

“They’re used to that one-on-one combat,” he said. “They have the good hands, the good feet. I love going out and getting those kids.”

Galliano said Ojeda brings the full package: “Physical. Athletic. Nasty. Very smart. Knows the game. Very good motor.”

Ojeda was a key element in San Jacinto ending Citrus Hill’s 13-year Mountain Pass reign and reaching the semifinals of the Division 6 playoffs. He earned all-Division 6 first-team honors.Not bad, considering football is Ojeda’s second sport.

Born into a wrestling family, Ojeda was on the competitive mat by age 3, after his mother, Marie, saw a sign advertising a youth program.

“I don’t really remember when I was 3,” he said. “But my mom has told me the stories. Showing up in jean shorts, with sweat bands on my biceps.”

Ojeda’s memories from the years that followed were of fun and camaraderie, going for pizza after practice and competition. Marie remembers a light going on in A.J. as the competitive fire grew.

Ojeda brought natural gifts to the sport. He was “crazy strong” according to Marie, from the outset, but matched it with athleticism.

“I was really surprised,” said Fidel Salcido, who has worked with Ojeda as both head coach and assistant. “Being an upper weight wrestler, he could move like a lower-weight wrestler.”

The early start also paid off in developing an advanced knowledge of tactics and strategy.

“We call it chain-wrestling,” Salcido said. “It’s not just sticking to one move, but connecting it with another and another.”

Ojeda won four regular-season tournaments this season. His victory in the Northern Division final earned him the title of CIF champion and was particularly meaningful because he avenged a loss to Centennial’s Issac Lopez in the Riverside County meet final.

With plenty of time to think about it, Ojeda occasionally mulls his two losses in the state meet. Ultimately, though, he appreciates the victories in a year that began in fire and ended with championships.

So does Marie.

“You know, I’m always going to be the crazy wrestling mom,” she said. “People told me they could hear me on the television (at the state meet) from clear across the pavilion.

“There’s a lot of pride in what he has done and who he’s become. I have to thank all the coaches, too. They’ve helped me raise a great kid.”