Injuries couldn't hold RV's Silva down

CALEDONIA – An injury and a battle with his own patience couldn't defeat River Valley senior Efren Silva this season — and very few wrestlers were able to do so as well.

Silva is the Fahey Bank Male Athlete of the Month for February. But the son of Michelle Newson and Efren Silva nearly came close to being a non-athlete this fall and winter.

During track last year, Silva tore the Achilles tendon in his left leg and had to learn to walk all over again.

He had to skip football season, and some forecasts did not have him back in the athletic arena until this spring's track campaign.

"I could not put pressure on my leg at all," Silva said. "I had to sit out football, and then I was told I could do nothing up until track.

"That was not something I wanted to do at all. It was hard missing football to begin with."

Silva went through rehabilitation and a month later was doing light exercises and light jogs on the school's track.

"He was determined to work through the pain," River Valley wrestling coach Mark McGuire said.

Silva admitted the rehab work was tough, but said it was the correct remedy.

"I got ahold of that pretty quickly, and I healed faster than the doctor thought," Silva said. "I did not go to the first wrestling meet, but that was just precautionary."

Once he finally got onto the mats, Silva reveled in the activity and focused on success.

"I felt pretty good getting back to wrestling instead of sitting on my butt," he said.

Silva went 18-1 during February. He won 10 of those matches by pin, with seven of those triumphs coming in the first period.

That, he said, was by design.

"I try to go out and get the match done as quickly as I can, especially on days we have dual meets," Silva said. "I try to get on and off of the mat, and I just used that as a goal for every match."

Silva also picked up one technical fall win and two victories by major decision in the month.

A 160-pounder, Silva won his weight class in the River Valley Bender Duals, in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference meet, and in the Division II sectional meet at Whitehall-Yearling High School.

The sectional title was his second in a row.

In addition, Silva won his regional semifinals match against Lexington in the state team tournament, helping River Valley reach the regional level of the event for the first time in school history.

During February, Silva won his 100th career high school match, and earned 100 team points in February while giving his foes' only three team points.

His lone loss during the month was 2-1 to Alex Sepeda, a two-time state-tournament qualifier from Marysville.

Silva said some extra work he put in to improve his game was key.

"I definitely worked on my offense on my feet, and on top I tried to stay in control," he said. "I also worked on being more explosive on bottom."

Silva, however, was wrestling on borrowed time. All of the preseason conditioning work he had to skip wound up limiting his longevity, and shin splints in the season's latter stages shut down his conditioning.

"The shin splints kept me from running and I paid for it," he said.

Silva was eliminated from the district tournament, falling short of his goal of a state-tourney bid. However, he finished the season with a sparkling 41-5 record.

"The end goal was not what I wanted, but it definitely makes me smile when I look back at the season," Silva said. "There were definitely some good memories."

dmcphers@nncogannett.com

740-375-5158

Twitter: @starsportsdenny

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VIDEO ONLINE

To see Efren Silva talk about his wrestling during February and the 2014-15 season, watch a video online at www.marionstar.com.