Borja Stays on the Move

Hayfield High's Raymond Borja wrestles his father nearly every day in their Fort Belvoir living room, which is carpeted by a red wrestling mat and furnished with only a china cabinet and stationary bike.

He attends a wrestling tournament every weekend, year round, no matter where it's located. Borja wrestles so much that his coach, Roy Hill, forced him to take a month off from competition this past September so the junior wouldn't get burned out.

"I just want to make progress as fast as I possibly can," said the 119-pound Borja, who didn't start wrestling until the end of his eighth-grade year.

Borja won all four of his matches yesterday in the Patriot Duals at Hayfield, three by pin and one by major decision. Hayfield won its four duals matches against district rivals to improve to 10-5. Its closest dual match was against South County, in which Borja sealed a 42-29 victory in the final bout with a pin in 26 seconds.

Borja's family has moved around often -- from Texas to New Jersey to Virginia -- as part of his father Raymond's active duty in the U.S. Navy, and the transitions helped delay the younger Borja's entry into the sport.

There were no youth wrestling leagues in Texas, and Borja deemed his son too young to start wrestling in New Jersey. There were opportunities when the family arrived in Virginia, but he held his son back for two years because he didn't want Raymond to wrestle without his supervision and develop bad habits.

"I always tell him, 'Man, I'd be so much better if I started earlier,' " the younger Borja said. "Personally, I think I would have been nationally ranked. I mess with him, but it was probably for the best."

The elder Borja wrestled at the Naval Academy, competed at the 1991 Pan American games, took fifth at the U.S. Olympic trials in 1992 and was a Greco National Open champion in 1993. After being out of the sport for 10 years, he became involved again in 2004 to help teach his son.

The younger Borja placed fourth last year in the Virginia AAA tournament at 103 pounds and is 33-6 this season.

"To see someone who has improved as much as [my son] has, it's amazing," the elder Borja said. "I never thought he'd be at this level so soon."

The month away from wrestling competition was tough for the younger Borja to handle, but he continued his daily routine of watching videotape, running, lifting and wrestling with his father at home.

"He's nonstop," Hill said. "Ever since he started, he's worked incredibly hard and has just gotten better and better and better."

Patriot Duals Alternate Weight Gain: Once weighing 350 pounds, T.C. Williams senior heavyweight Quinton McCorkle dropped to 250 pounds and won four times yesterday against wrestlers 35 to 40 pounds heavier. He improved to 31-0. Patriot Duals Alternate Weight Gain: Once weighing 350 pounds, T.C. Williams senior heavyweight Quinton McCorkle dropped to 250 pounds and won four times yesterday against wrestlers 35 to 40 pounds heavier. He improved to 31-0.