Sunnyside Class of 1985 standout wrestler Sam Portillo and former Blue Devil wrestling coach Richard Sanchez have both earned their second hall of fame honor in less than two years.
They will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Arizona Chapter for their lifetime of service to wrestling in a ceremony at the Marriott Phoenix Chandler on Nov. 22.
Portillo was inducted into the New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame in April because of his success as head coach at Silver High School in Silver City, N.M.
Sanchez, who led Sunnyside to five state titles in wrestling and two in football, went into the Arizona High School Athletics Coaches Hall of Fame in April 2025.
Portillo coached Silver to three consecutive state runner-up finishes from 1994 to 1996 and multiple district championships. He coached 13 individual state champions, 28 state placers, and multiple All-Americans.
Portillo’s influence on young wrestlers also reached national and international stages as a coach with USA Wrestling. He has served on coaching staffs for world teams, Olympic training camps, the Pan American Games, and World Cup events.
“When it comes to the sport of wrestling, I wouldn’t be here without (former Sunnyside teammate) Tommy Ortiz and his parents,” Portillo mentioned. “They took me everywhere and never asked for a dime.”
Portillo also stated that the late Don Klostreich, the Godfather of Sunnyside’s wrestling dynasty, was like a father figure to him.
He also gives appreciation to former Pueblo coach John Mulay for giving him his first wrestling coaching job.
Legendary Arizona State and Iowa State coach Bobby Douglas, who passed away earlier this year lwas also instrumental in Portillo becoming a coach.
The community involvement Portillo has exhibited in Southern Arizona, conducting numerous free wrestling camps for youths, is similar to what he did in New Mexico. The Sam Portillo Wrestling Camps in New Mexico attracted Olympians and national champions to train and mentor young wrestlers.
Portillo, who also coached at Desert View and Amphi and is presently an assistant with Catalina Foothills, was inducted in the Sunnyside Unified School District Hall of Fame in 2018 for his wrestling and coaching success and community involvement.
He wrestled for Phoenix College after graduating from Sunnyside and earned a degree at Western New Mexico.
After assisting Klostreich from 1981 to 1989 at Sunnyside, Sanchez became head coach in 1990 when Klostreich resigned.
Sanchez also coached in the Blue Devil football program as an assistant from 1981 to 1990. He became head coach in 1993.
During his head coaching career at Sunnyside, his teams earned seven state championships — five in wrestling and two in football. The Blue Devils’ football team reached the state championship game four times under Sanchez, winning in 2001 and 2003. His 2001 team was the first in Sunnyside history to win a title.
The Sunnyside football team’s overall record was 158-58 during Sanchez’s 18-year tenure.
“Anybody can go coach a good team,” Sanchez to AllSportsTucson.com last year. “The idea as a coach is to build the program, not a team. … It’s no good to win a couple seasons or one season because you have the star athletes, and then after that, they’re gone. That’s not coaching. Coaching is building a program and sustaining it for years.”
Sanchez also won eight state championships as a wrestling assistant coach, including with Mica Mountain’s girls team in 2024-25 that won the school’s first state title.
In the past four years, Sanchez has served as an assistant football coach at Mica Mountain, where he coaches the offensive line.
The Thunderbolts earned repeat championships in 2024 and 2025 and are in the midst of a 13-game winning streak.
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