Community mourns loss of former Paloma wrestling star

The Paloma Valley High School community is mourning the sudden death of Savion Dixon, a 2019 graduate of the school and one of the Wildcats’ best-ever wrestlers.

Details were not released regarding the death of Dixon. His wrestling coach spoke fondly Sunday night of Dixon, for whom a GoFundMe page has been established in his memory.

“Savion was a great kid who was always smiling,” said coach Luis Robles. “He had an attitude that was very contagious. I’ve been getting calls and texts from people all over who are heartbroken about this.”

Dixon didn’t wrestle as a freshman, but by the time he had finished his sophomore season, he had made the CIF meet. Wrestling at first at 106 pounds and later at 120, he went on to win three league championships and placed three times in the CIF finals, including becoming the school’s first male CIF champion in any sport in 2019. He was named lower weight MVP in the CIF championship meet.

“He was a great kid and a defender of his teammates,” Robles said. “You couldn’t ignore Savion; you had to acknowledge him.”

A memorial service for Dixon will be held Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. at Evans-Brown Mortuary.