Miracle signs on with Cal Poly
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South wrestler Dylan Miracle signs his National Letter of Intent at Cal Poly in front of family and friends at Madera South. From left are his uncle Billy Miracle, Jennifer Bruhn and father Beau Miracle.
According to Madera South standout wrestler Dylan Miracle, it was almost a ‘miracle’ he earned a scholarship offer from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
By signing his National Letter of Intent on April 18 in front of family and friends, Miracle became the second Madera South wrestler to earn a college scholarship and first to earn one with a Div. I school.
However, things changed a couple of months ago for Miracle. He was trying to keep his options open with scholarship offers from the East Coast and from Div. II schools.
It was by a miracle he ran into Madera High School Assistant Principal Moses Perez at a leadership conference.
“It was by luck a little bit,” Miracle said. “He asked me about my college plans. I told him I wasn’t sure. He had a contact who was the head coach at Cal Poly. He gave him my number. I contacted the coach, I made a visit and knew that campus was for me.”
Miracle received contact from Newberry in South Carolina and another school in Massachusetts. “I felt like I was a Div. I because of what I did in high school,” he said. “I felt like I belonged in the Div. I level. Cal Poly is the only school in Div. I that talked to me. That was another reason why I chose Cal Poly.”
Before a visit to Cal Poly, Miracle wasn’t going to make a decision. He was going to visit other colleges, but once he stepped on the Cal Poly campus, it felt like home.
“They talked to me about the academics, too,” he said. “They are building a program and they told me how I would help their program. I didn’t need to go to other colleges because I knew in my heart where to go.”
Another reason to choose Cal Poly is because it was he closest college that recruited him.
“I’ll be able to go home and my family will be able to visit me,” he said.
Miracle set himself up for success at the next level by what he did on the mat and in the classroom. He will graduate with a 4.2 grade point average. He plans to major in business administration.
“I’m a goal oriented person,” Miracle said. “I always told people I want to own my own business, but I don’t know what, yet.”
He finished fifth in the state this year and was a four-time state qualifier, the first in Madera South’s history. He also won four County/Metro Athletic Conference individual championships in three different weight classes. He also won the Chukchansi Invitational championship twice at 170 pounds.
“As a freshman, I just remember telling my dad and friends, I was going to be a Div. I wrestler,” Miracle said. “My sophomore and junior year, it seemed like a pipe dream. My senior year success made it a goal. I drew myself in a college singlet in the eighth grade.”
Miracle was suspended for a few matches in the middle of his senior year. Rather than not talk about it, Miracle embraces it and says it taught him things can change in an instant.
“It helped shaped me as a person,” he said. “It hardened myself a little bit. It told me things can change about the choices I make. This is it and I have an opportunity to do all the things I wanted to do. I had to make sure it counted.”
Those thoughts were also embraced last week when he was part of the Every 15 Minutes program as a driver of a car hit by a teenage drunk driver. He was portrayed paralyzed from the waist down. He says that really struck a nerve.
Miracle’s father, Beau, tried to keep Dylan level-headed to make sure he chose the right school.
“He was playing devil’s advocate to make sure this was where I wanted to go,” Dylan said. “He was on top of the world of my decision. He knew this was a good choice for myself and the family.”
