United In Rivalry

Maryland wrestling teammates Dario Lemus and Branson John boast a relationship that dates back to their childhoods. 

The boys attended middle school together, but even before then, they met each other on the mat as kindergarten-aged boys. Although now wrestling in different weight classes (Lemus - 141, John - 174), the pair wrestled against each other at tournaments in and around their hometown of Clovis, California, as young kids. 

John remembers one of their matches against each other very well. 

“He beat my ass,” John said. “Then my dad went up to his dad and started talking. He found out Dario needed a training partner.” 

Seeking to improve John's wrestling, his father agreed to have him train alongside Lemus. Suddenly, the two were competing against one another at 5 a.m. five days a week in Lemus’ garage. 

“It was like, ‘Dad, why are you making me up at 5 a.m. to train with this guy?’ John said. “We went through war together.”

The dynamic continued, and a friendship was formed. 

“Before you knew it, we got really close and were always hanging out,” Lemus said. “Our dads were always together, barbecuing and stuff. We were playing games together.”

The pair’s relationship is built upon their fierce childhood battles with one another. However, those battles continued when they each began attending high school. They were no longer directed at each other, but the stakes were higher. 

Lemus attended Clovis High School, and John attended Buchanan High School. The two schools are less than a 15-minute drive apart, and each has an intense wrestling rivalry. Clovis and Buchanan are two of California's most successful high school wrestling programs, as the Central Valley Conference (CVC) schools consistently send student-athletes to top collegiate programs.

Lemus and John aren’t the only Terp teammates who have experienced the rivalry. Heavyweight Seth Nevills also wrestled at Clovis, compiling a 169-1 record and four straight California state championships. He accomplished these feats before Lemus and John began high school, but they saw him wrestle and knew who he was. 

“I remember one time I was in eighth grade, and he came into the wrestling room,” Lemus said. “I was like, ‘God, that dude is huge.’” 

John shared a similar first impression. “At my size, seeing someone as big as him, you're thinking of a monster,” he said. “That's the only way to put it. Just the way he goes out there on the mat, he'd topple everyone he wrestled. There was no one that could give him a run for his money.”

Incredibly, the trio includes three-fourths of Maryland wrestlers who hail from California. Although Abram Cline grew up six hours away from his teammates, he brings the total to four wrestlers from the Golden State. Maryland head wrestling coach Alex Clemsen has committed to recruiting the state.

“It’s really fun having kids from all pockets of the country on the team,” Clemson said. “We started our California connection with Dario, and it continued with Mr. Nevills and Branson John. The fact that all those kids are from the Clovis area makes it even more special. I know we will continue to target that area as it is very talent-rich.”  

Nevills, Lemus and John often engage in friendly banter, arguing whether Clovis or Buchanan has the better high school wrestling program. Nevills credits Clovis’ coaches and the show they put on at every meet as the school’s defining quality. Lemus diverted to the fact that Clovis has the most state championships in California. He was also quick to point out that the son of Clovis’ head coach is the head coach at Buchanan. 

John defended his alma mater. He says Buchanan has better coaches and facilities and operates like a Division I wrestling program. 

According to the student-athletes, one significant factor in the two schools' rivalry is that many coaches attended the opposing school as students. 

Despite the rivalry, the trio acknowledges they’re more alike than different. Clovis and Buchanan Wrestling operate under similar mottos and have a comparable love for the sport. Lemus says both programs breed great people. They also hang out on and off the mat.    

“Buchanan and Clovis, all of us practice together,” Lemus said. “We train together. We all go to club (wrestling) together. The only time we're divided is that six-month season. But everything else, we're hitting Fargo together. We're going to national tournaments and summer duals together.”

Evidence to Lemus’ claims, John was present at Lemus’ house for his commitment to Maryland. John met Clemsen there, and he and assistant Nick Brascetta later reached out to him. Maryland offered John a scholarship, and his decision to accept was partly because of Lemus and the positive things he said about the program and staff. John committed before taking a visit to College Park. 

Plenty of other collegiate programs feature student-athletes from each program. The trio's familiarity and similar instilled values give them someone to lean on.   

“We were kind of raised through the programs,” Nevills said. “We can rely on each other. And how we practice, when things get tough, we can fall back on how we were raised to lift each other up.”

The friendly rivalry they were a part of has shaped them into who they are today. 

However, the trio says their relationship with one another is indicative of Maryland’s entire wrestling team.

“We can easily be one little group, but it's not like that,” John said. “Everyone’s inclusive with everyone. Everyone's cool, and no one has problems with anyone. That's one thing about the Maryland wrestling program that made me love it so much.”