Del Mar native Nick Rodriguez is chasing down his dream to wrestle on the international level. On Aug. 29-30, he will be competing for a spot on the Philippine National Team at the 2026 Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP) National Championship in Quezon City in Metro Manila. If he earns a place on Team Pilipinas, he would be set on a pathway to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
As USA Wrestling is highly competitive, Rodriguez believes the Philippine National Team represents a better chance for him to be able to compete on the world stage. His Filipino heritage comes courtesy of his dad Arnold, who was born in Manila.
He admits he wouldn’t have been able to get to the Philippines alone and is grateful to have a solid support system that has backed him up on his ambitious journey —through a GoFundMe, friends and family have contributed $5,745 to help him reach his goal.
Wrestler Nick Rodriguez. (Arnold Rodriguez)
As he wrote on his fundraising page, he has poured his heart into the sport of wrestling: “This sport has taught me discipline, resilience and what it truly means to work hard,” said Rodriguez, 22.
The 2022 Cathedral Catholic High School graduate wrestled at Menlo College on an athletic/academic scholarship for two years before returning home to San Diego. For the last two years he has wrestled at 149 pounds for Palomar College, where he finished as an All-American this past season.
Rodriguez, who went to Del Mar Heights and Earl Warren Middle School, was 12 years old when he first started wrestling. He didn’t so much choose the sport but was thrown into it by his dad Arnold who had wrestled in his youth and thought Nick may benefit from it.
“I grew up playing a lot of soccer and baseball, flag football. I played all sports before I ever stepped on a wrestling mat,” Rodriguez said. “It was the worst thing ever and I hated it and didn’t go back for like two years. My dad helped me decide to wrestle again and looking back on it, he was right and I’m glad he did. I wrestled youth to high school, and high school is where I really fell in love with it.”
As a youth wrestler, he wrestled on local teams such as No Mercy at Rancho Buena Vista High School, the Maverick Mat Rats at La Costa Canyon, and Team Puma, run out of Cathedral by coach Isaac Pumarejo, his last club coach who Rodriguez still trains with today.
“I always had an odd personality so I feel like wrestling is a really good gateway to express who I am as a person,” said Rodriguez, who likes the individual aspect of the sport where what happens on the mat is a direct reflection of his efforts. “It’s really cool to go on a mat to prove what I think and what I train.”
While he still has some college eligibility left and the opportunity to compete for the national team, at this stage Rodriguez is also giving coaching a shot, sharing what he has learned with younger wrestlers. In 2024, he joined the coaching staff at Cathedral, where his dad Arnold is the team’s head coach.
As a coach, he said it’s most important to get to know each athlete individually, really understanding their personalities to know how to reach them: “You can teach and show moves to a kid but if you can’t get to know them and be there for them if they lose or have a tough practice, they’re not going to want to come back.”
Using his personal experiences, his goal is to make it fun and to keep kids in the sport that he loves.
Nick Rodriguez wrestled the past two years at Palomar College. (Courtesy Palomar College)
For Rodriguez, being a wrestler is a lifestyle: a lot of training, a lot of practice.
His mindset is one of gratitude; he appreciates his health and being able to wake up each day. If he happens to wake up “feeling gross”, he will go for a run to flush out any negative thoughts.
He runs and he wrestles, and he lifts and cycles at Crunch Fitness, fitting in training sessions in between his shifts at Discount Tire.
Heading into the Philippines National Championships, he said he is not going too crazy with his training—aiming to wrestle once a day and “blowing out his lungs” with a bike or run circuit to keep his blood flowing. Lung capacity is key and something he has stressed with his young wrestlers.
“You’re going to be tired regardless of how hard you train,” Rodriguez said. “The more you train and get used to being tired, you get more comfortable being tired.”
He is looking forward to his first time visiting the Philippines with his father and is going into the competition with a high level of confidence.
“I’ve worked hard enough to earn a spot,” Rodriguez said. “I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to go out there and even do it in the first place.”