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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 |
