Trevor Kelly -- Daily Journal Athlete of the Year

Terribly lit and made darker by walls painted a deep red, the room has an eerie feel to it. It’s a place where gallons of sweat, blood and tears have found there way to the pair of wrestling mats that carpet the floor. Inspirational quotes dot the walls every couple of feet. If you go there, please, take your shoes off before you step on the mats — it’s proper wrestling etiquette.

Oh, if those walls could talk; the stories they would tell.

If they could speak, they’d probably start by uttering a name now legendary, not only in the El Camino mat room, but through the halls of the same high school. It’s a name synonymous with hard work, perseverance, domination, championships and today, with the title of San Mateo Daily Journal Male Athlete of the Year: Trevor Kelly.

"It changed me,” Kelly said of that mat room where his trek to a Peninsula Athletic League and Central Coast Section championship began every morning at 6 a.m. "That mat room changed me as an athlete, It changed me as a man, it made me more mature, it made me a better student and athlete. I have good memories in there.”

Kelly’s senior season as a Colt was matched only by his superior size — standing a menacing 6’3” and tipping the scale at 265 pounds of raw muscle, Kelly is an intimating figure to be around if you’re the opposition.

Combine that size with a keen focus to be the best and, unfortunately for the rest of the PAL and CCS, they were at the mercy of the big man for the entire year on the football field, the wrestling mat and the baseball diamond.

"When I was younger, I always came to practice because I had to,” Kelly said. "But, knowing that I could be a top competitor, reality set in and it hit me that whatever sport I played, I’m at the top of the food chain.”

That hunter’s mentality was a scary concept, considering that the rest of the PAL knew little about Kelly on the football field after suffering a leg injury that held him out the majority of his junior season.

Injury junior set the stage for breakout senior season

"My coach took my helmet away, that night I had an MRI, the next day I found out in the team room and honestly, I started to cry,” Kelly said of his injury. "I kind of felt betrayed. It was very upsetting. Hurting my knee junior year, I came back stronger my senior year, a lot healthier and in better shape. It inspired me, motivated me to be one of the best athletes to come out of El Camino.”

Kelly dominated on both sides of the ball. On offense, it was pancake after pancake. And on defense, Kelly was just a bull, creating havoc on the defensive line, knocking unfortunate offensive lineman on their rears the entire game (and then very politely extending his hand to pick them back up). His play on that side of the ball garnered him Defensive Player of the Year honors in the PAL Lake Division on a 3-2 El Camino team.

A drive to be a champion

Kelly wasn’t just putting in double time on the football field. He increased his work load by hitting the aforementioned room on a daily basis as he prepared himself for the winter wrestling season. And as soon as the football year ended, Kelly took off like an unstoppable freight train — there wasn’t a human being in the PAL or CCS that could stop him.

Kelly breezed through the PAL season and championships en route to a heavyweight title. He carried that momentum and pulled the same breeze-job in the CCS tournament. The feat was made that much more impressive by the ease in which Kelly accomplished it.

"No, I wasn’t surprised,” Kelly said of his dominance. "My goal was to become champion. PAL champion, CCS champion and to be Top-16 in the state. I can’t ask for anything more. I’ve always wanted to be the best at what I do.”

Finishing with a flourish

With his wrestling career as a Colt over, Kelly looked to his first love: Baseball. Two days after losing in the state wrestling tournament, Kelly threw on the tools of ignorance and caught seven innings of baseball in a win against rival South San Francisco.

And it wasn’t like Kelly was there just to take up space behind the plate. Kelly hit in the middle of an El Camino line-up that turned their first season up from the Ocean Division into a Bay Division title. Kelly was named to the PAL Bay Division First Team after hitting .448 for the year — not too shabby for a guy who basically had zero time to work on his swing during the off-season.

"Becoming successful is on your own ability,” Kelly said. "You can’t just be successful in a day. You have to want to be successful to become successful. (You have to) shine for yourself as a person, not just as athlete or student, with your family, friends and the community.”

For all his athletic accomplishments, Kelly seemed keen on making sure that the world outside of El Camino know what he is really about. His hard work in the classroom netted him a 3.4 GPA. He’s battled through some heavy childhood adversity to earn a scholarship and play football at Sacramento State in the fall. And after all the accolades he accumulated as a Colt, Kelly said his fondest memories revolve around his daily lunch routine with his friend Chris and an office worker named Tess.

"All-in-all, I feel like I inspired a lot of kids, not just in school and sports,” Kelly said. "I want to be remembered as a fun-loving kid who worked hard to get to where he is at today. Not just a beast, who demolished all these kids. As a kid who smiles every day, a kid who worked hard. I consider myself to be like a friendly giant, a friendly bear. At times, I’m like a little teddy bear, but when it comes to the field, I get so amped up, my adrenaline is rushing, it kind of turns into a grizzly bear.”