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When the Cerritos College wrestling program was in
preparation to host the Halloween Open on October 27
and 28, they had no idea that by the end of the
weekend, they would wind up helping out a family
from the tight wrestling community. Falcon head
coach
Don Garriott, who was the event sponsor,
found out that former high school wrestler Thomas
Varshock died in the San Diego wildfires, and he
decided to help make a difference.
“I was
reading on a wrestling message board about what
happened to this family and I thought it would be a
way to help one of our own,” said Garriott, who had
never met the family. “It was after the first day of
the tournament (which is for high school aged
wrestlers) and I decided that we could to a 50/50
drawing with the money going to the family. I also
decided that I would donate $1 for each entry in the
tournament. Our goal was to raise $2,000.”
By the end
of the day, Garriott had helped raise $1,835, which
included the $635 from the individual entries. The
50/50 drawing raised $650 alone, with winner, Sara
Gilbert, donating her $325 to the fundraiser. The
rest of the money came from donations from fans and
families that attended the tournament.
Thomas
Varshock, 52, was a member of the first state
championship team at Monte Vista High in 1973 and
placed sixth. Varshock and his son Richard, 15, were
overcome by flames from the Harris fire at their
Potrero home. The sophomore wrestler at Valhalla
High is currently at the UCSD Medical center in
Hillcrest suffering from lung damage and burns to
over more than half his body. His father, a
geological engineer, died as a result of the fire.
“This was a
terrible tragedy and I was glad that we were able to
help out in any way,” added Garriott, who is in his
second year as the Falcon head coach. “The wrestling
community is a tight community, so when I found out
what happened, I felt that there had to be some way
that we could help.”
To
make donations to the Varshock family, please write
to:
UCSD Burn
Institute
c/o Richard
Varshock
8825 Aero Drive,
Ste. 200
San Diego, CA
92123-2269
Donations may also be made online at:
www.burninstitute.org/gift/firestorm_funds.html |
