It’s tough to gauge the hours of exertion required to be a successful high school wrestler this time of year. With the Metro Conference Tournament taking place this weekend at Olympia High School, and districts beginning soon after, the time is now to get the most out of a grueling regimen that helped get each competitor to this point.
The preparation over the offseason at open mats. The battle on a weekly basis with teammates for a varsity spot. The face-off with the scale at weigh-ins. It all gets pushed to the back of a wrestler’s mind the day the grappling takes place. In the moments approaching each match, competitors have been known to gear up for a quarrel in their own unique ways.
University junior Alex Backer (112 lbs.), the son of a high school wrestler who picked up on the sport while in middle school, uses the techno and hard rock sounds in his I-pod, featuring Daft Punk and Disturbed among others, to get fired up before strapping on the headgear. “I try and listen to some stuff that’ll get me pumped up for my match, to get my blood flowing,” said Backer, who took Metro and district titles last year after moving to town from University High School in Washington state.
And Backer isn’t the only one that turns to music before hitting the mat. The team at Colonial High School warms up to the sounds of Metallica and Jimi Hendrix over loudspeakers during home meets. But that doesn’t stop competitors such as district champ Armando Trevino (119) from secluding himself in silence while eyeing his opponent as he stretches. CHS senior Richard Oliva (189), bound for the Marines after high school, already takes a mental approach before each match. “I take my coach’s motto to heart — ‘You’ve got to hate to lose if you want to win,” said Oliva.
“I just keep repeating that in my head and go out there to try and beat the guy.” Teammate C.J. Parsons (125) does things slightly different, as expected from his personality. He prefers to turn up the volume while practicing his techniques, before the action gets underway. “I’ve just got to be loud,” said Parsons. “I like the attention on me and I want everyone to know that I’m there. It gets my adrenaline going.” It also reminds these athletes, such as Parsons, how fortunate they are to be able to compete in the first place.
“I’m not a very serious person. I like to joke and have a good time right up until the matches,” said Timber Creek’s Ray Meadows (125). “But once I get on the mat I’ll get focused. I’ll say my prayer, and then I’ll step up to the line.” Timber Creek sophomore heavyweight Donovan Green (21-4) fades in and out of his routine. “Sometimes I’ll listen to music while I warm up,” said Green. “Get up, move around, do a little jump rope three or four matches before I’m up, and listen to some heavy metal to get me focused and in the mood.”
That’s in contrast to the approach of senior teammate Argenis Rodriguez (130), who comes off as laid-back as someone whose mind is somewhere else altogether. “I don’t really have any basic traditions, I just get warmed up a little before matches,” said Rodriguez, who listens to an eclectic set list through headphones while jogging around the gym. University’s two-time state runner-up Brandon Tressler (189) sits alone and focuses on what he wants to do before entering the circle against each opponent.
Tressler prefers to talk to very few around him as he maps out his plan of action in between shadow wrestling and jumping rope. “It’s more mental preparation than anything,” said Tressler of his prematch moments. Teammate T.J. Sturgeon (171) handles himself in much the same way. “I just pray and then think of my moves,” said Sturgeon.
“I pray that neither my opponent or I gets injured.” If results from this season are a fair measuring stick, it would be hard to argue against the many different ways these area standouts prepare for their encounters on the mat. “I talk to myself, tell myself to wrestle hard, wrestle smart,” said Timber Creek junior Mike Ciambriello. “I just think about the moves I’m going to hit and how to make [my opponent] wrestle my match and not his match,” he said. “I just repeat that in my head over and over again.”
Just as he will this weekend, and before each crucial match that follows, as the stakes continue to rise for all involved.
