My name is Jose Fernandez III and I am a wrestler from Upper Lake High School. I have been wrestling year round, for the last 6 years all over the country. Most recently I placed 2nd at NCS Sections and qualified for CIF State. One of my wrestling goals this season was to wrestle Justin Mejia of Clovis, the 2nd 4-time CIF State champion and ranked 3rd in the nation, before he graduated high school. I did just that at CIF State. My dream is to wrestle in college and compete for Team USA in the 2020 OR 2024 Olympics. I compete in 3 different styles of wrestling: Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco-Roman. Wrestling is, in my opinion, the hardest sport to compete in and takes the most dedication and discipline. You also learn many life lessons and skills from wrestling, such as discipline, mental toughness, physical fitness, responsibility, and respect. To be a competitive wrestler, I train 5 days a week in various locations, with many different training partners and coaches, as well as weight training and competing every weekend. I do all this while maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.3 as a sophomore in high school. I am also a member of our local FFA, Upward Bound and taking Spanish 2 days a week after school for my college transcripts. For FFA I am raising a steer and pig for the September fair. As a member of Upward Bound I attend Mendocino College during the summer and travel California exploring and touring colleges and universities. In my free time I love to hunt and fish. I also volunteer my time to teach local middle school wrestlers some of the techniques I have learned over the years.

 The purpose of this letter is to request donations/support for my upcoming training and competitions. Wrestling is the most costly sport, because of all the travel involved. I am specifically requesting donations to help cover my trip to Japan for the Cultural Exchange program and my Fargo trip in July with Team California.  It is an honor to be chosen to represent not only California, but the United States of America. These 2 trips alone have a cost of over $5,000 combined. My parents are an amazing support system for me and they get me where I need to be. So I would like to help them out with some of these expenses. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my story. Any donations are greatly appreciated and help to offset the expenses my parents pay for me to wrestle. If you or someone you know would like to donate, you can donate on here, in person, or through the mail. Please mail checks to

Jose Fernandez
PO Box 474
Upper Lake, CA 95485

Or call my mother, Jamie Fernandez @ [phone redacted]

 Thank you in advance for supporting my dreams!

Some of my accomplishments over the years and upcoming tournaments/camps are listed below.

Accomplishments:

2017 CA-USA TRIPLE CROWN WINNER

1st place @ 2017 CA-USA Greco State Cadet div
1st place @ 2017 CA-USA Greco State Jr div
1st place @ 2017 CA-USA Freestyle State Cadet div 
True 2nd @ 2017 Flo Reno Worlds
1st place @ 2017 CA-USA Folkstyle State Jr/Sr division
3rd place @ 2017 CA-USA State Soph division
2017 CIF State-went 1-2
2017 state qualifier for CIF State
2nd place @ 2017 NCS Sections
1st place @ 2017 CMC League & OW
2nd place @ 2017 King of the Mat
1st place @ 2017 Puma Classic
4th place @ 2017 Tim Brown Memorial
1st place @ 2016 No Guts No Glory
1st place @ 2016 Green & Gold & OW
1st place @ 2016 Lou Bronzan
2nd place @ 2016 USA Grade State in 2 divisions
4th place @ 2016 NCS Sections
1st place @ 2016 CMC League
4th place @ 2016 MSJ Invite
3rd place @ 2016 King of the Mat
1st place @ 2016 Puma Classic
1st place @ 2015 Lou Bronzan & OW
1st place @ 2015 Regionals Folkstyle
2nd place @ 2015 Regionals Greco-Roman
3rd place @ 2015 Regionals Freestyle
3rd place @ 2015 CA-USA Freestyle State
3rd place @ 2015 NorCal TOC
3rd place @ 2015 Reno Worlds
3rd place @ 2015 Tulsa Nationals
3rd place @ 2015 California Republic
2nd place @ 2014 Beast of the West
1st place @ 2014 Flo Kickoff Classic Tulsa, OK
6th place @ 2014 Reno Worlds

Upcoming:

June 12-15    Fargo Nationals Camp
June 19-23     USA Western Regionals, 3 styles in Idaho
June 26          Japan Cultural Exchange Program 12 days
July 12-23     Fargo in North Dakota
Oct 20-22     Freakshow in Las Vegas