Ranger wrestlers take down Monster

The Hill City wrestling team took on the Mid Dakota Monster and Bride of the Monster in Presho  this weekend. The girls faced 43 teams at the Bride. 

Daisy Munoz had a win, taking down Khazania Cross of Todd County in the first period.

The boys were able to see wrestlers from all over the state as 32 teams competed overall. Hill City scored six points in the tournament. Andres Hernandez took home a win in his 215 weight bracket. He defeated Ryan Farlee of Cheyenne-Eagle Butte in three periods. Titus Sutton also took home a win with a takedown in the first period in the 157-pound match against Greyson Schmidt of Tea.

Valentin Flores, who has been out due to injury all season, took to the mats and picked up a win against  Corydun Pascua of Little Wound. The match went three periods and featured three takedowns. 

“He did really well,” said coach Josh Robison about Flores’ first tournament. He said Flores asked a lot of questions and is curious on how to improve. That overall attitude of teachability and humility is one Robison said is good for inexperienced wrestlers. He said for a first or second year wrestler to “come in having an expectation of winning is a set up for failure.” 

Most often athletes in the sport have been wrestling since before they were in school, some starting as early as 4 years old. A more realistic goal for a first or second year wrestler is to focus on takedowns or escapes or on not getting pinned. Most of the Hill City wrestlers have one or two years of wrestling under their belts, as opposed to eight or more. And some schools have large programs. 

“It helps when you have 60 wrestlers on a team,” Robison said. “You have three or four kids in a weight class. Every day is a competition in the wrestling room.”

Without that luxury, Robison focuses on the positives, the style of each wrestler and the habits they have within those styles.  Robison has his athletes ask “How do we grow?” He said his team is very “humble and even keeled” and is “very coachable.” He said they joke that they can be too passive taking up mat space at times and that they are “good kids” who are often not “overly assertive,” a good quality in being a human. 

“Go out and be mean,” Robison prompts them. “Gentleness is a good thing, but this is one opportunity you get to go out and wrestle aggressively.” 

Robison added the top wrestlers don’t shy away. He teaches his team to focus on taking pride in not being pinned.

Robison focuses too on the role physics and biomechanics plays in making better wrestlers, asking athletes to ask how to counteract getting pressure from one side. 

“Awareness is huge,” Robison said. 

The boys and girls now go to Spearfish for the Black Hills Conference Tournament, a much smaller event with around eight to 10 schools. This means smaller brackets and one  wrestler per weight class. Flores and Justin Malone will have a “wrestle off” to see who will compete in the 138 for the Rangers. The loser can compete in the 144 class or opt to not wrestle. Robison does not demand a huge weight cut for his athletes. 

“I know where their natural weight is. I can see how to keep them healthy,” he said. 

He does not believe in forcing unrealistic weights on his players and sees that as an additional stress. 

“I don’t see the point. They’re still growing. It’s  not a big deal,” he said. 

Robison himself was a wrestler and said he was fortunate enough to take on many opponents successfully. 

“Believe me, cutting 10 pounds ain’t fun,” he said.