Great Bend, Dodge City juniors top WAC team
During the 2019-2020 wrestling season, high school competitors Damian Mendez of Dodge City and Breanna Ridgeway certainly had their share of success.
Both sophomores at the time, Mendez finished second in the Class 6A state at 113 pounds, while Ridgeway, competing in the first girls state tournament that included all classes, placed third in the 130-pound division.
With a recently completed season for the 2020-2021 campaign, the two now juniors stepped up their already successful careers by claiming state championships while also dominating their weight classes against their Western Athletic Conference opponents.
As a result, Mendez, who finished with a spotless 35-0 record, and Ridgeway, who never lost, ended with a 36-0 mark, were voted the WAC Wrestlers of the Years.
On the team side of things in the WAC, Dodge City’s boys went 4-0 to capture the championship with Great Bend and Garden City following in second and third. The girls have yet to organize a four dual-match season like the boys but there are discussions under way to include them perhaps for the 2022 season.
Breanna Ridgeway – Great Bend
When her season concluded and she found out from her coach, Nathan Broeckelman, Great Bend junior Breanna Ridgeway was pleased to learn of her Girls Wrestler of the Year award from the league’s coaches.
“I was very happy because the season had a lot of rough spots with COVID and all,” Ridgeway said in a recent telephone interview. “I just pulled through it the best I could because I was a week or two before regionals and missed one tournament.”
Ridgeway, who said an undefeated season was icing on the cake, indicated that the most difficult aspect of her late season setback with illness was getting her strength back and her conditioning.
“It was hard to do and part of the toughest part was to know how long and hard to practice to regain both the strength and the endurance,” Ridgeway said. “It wasn’t easy.”
After winning the third-place medal in her sophomore season, Ridgeway set her goal to capture the title this past campaign.
“I lost in the semis last year and I didn’t like the feeling,” she admitted. “This year, I think I pushed myself more mentally because that’s always been an obstacle for me.”
Ridgeway said she has always struggled with stress, so to overcome this, she was happy with the way her season concluded.
“I did my best to focus more on winning rather than thinking about what might go wrong,” she said. “Fixing the stress has made me a better wrestler.”
At the state meet, she eventually found herself up against Garden City sophomore Belle Hernandez, a wrestler she had pinned on several occasions during the regular season. In that title bout, though, it went the distance before Ridgeway came away with a 6-0 decision.
“She was certainly the toughest one I faced,” Ridgeway said of her state opponents. “I worked hard on fixing some of my technique. I used to shoot and would not finish correctly and not get two points (takedown) by getting them on the ground. I spent a lot of time working on that.”
With one more year of high school wrestling, Ridgeway has already set her sights on a repeat in 2022 while acknowledging it will be a long and arduous road to get there.
“I know that I just need to focus on getting better each day I practice and in each tournament I compete,” she said. “If I do that, I think the results will take care of themselves.”
Still undecided about college as far as wrestling goes, Ridgeway says she is thinking about studying to be a dental hygienist or perhaps become a veterinarian.
“Not sure just yet, but something medical related,” she indicated.
After her wrestling season concluded, Ridgeway jumped right over to the softball diamond where she will compete for the Lady Panthers, playing shortstop and second base as well as pitching.
Damien Mendez – Dodge City
When one finishes second in an individual sport and there and still has a couple of years in which to compete, there’s only place to go and that is No. 1.
That’s the challenge that faced Dodge City junior Damian Mendez as the 2020-2021 high school wrestling season got underway with preseason practices starting in November.
Mendez took that opportunity and met every challenge throughout his junior campaign, capping off a 35-0 unbeaten season with a 3-1 victory over Easton Taylor of Manhattan to claim the 132-pound Class 6A state crown.
That capstone event came after he had beaten every opponent during the Western Athletic Conference dual match season that eventually landed him with being named the WAC’s Boys Wrestler of the Year.
“I had a good year last year, but it motivated me to look forward,” Mendez said of what he experienced his junior season. “I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished, but I’m not satisfied.”
Mendez does a lot of nationally-recognized tournament competition in the offseason, going to places such as Fargo, N.D., and Colorado tournaments where he faces nationally-ranked opponents.
“Those tournaments made me mentally stronger because they seem to really push me to my limits,” he said. “I’ve gone to some camps which allowed me to learn some good moves.”
Mendez described himself as one being on the offense and attacking where he can look to get a shot at his opponent for scoring a takedown.
“I like going to the backside and put pressure on them,” he said of one of his strategic moves. “I’m not much of a top guy; it’s all about neutral and working to score points. If you want to try and take me down, you’re probably not going to win.”
With one silver medal and now a gold medal to add to his high school collection, the next goal for Mendez will be to repeat in 2022.
“There are always going to be other wrestlers who want to take away what you have,” he said. “So you’ve got to continue to work hard and keep improving.”
Mendez’ Red Demon teammates finished third in the chase for the team title, so that will be a re-set goal for 2022 as well.
“We won every tournament, all the WAC duals, until sub-state,” Mendez said. “We don’t usually pay much attention to the rankings because anything can happen and wrestling is always full of surprises. But we would really like to get that team trophy next year.”
For now, it’s a good feeling to be on top of the 6A wrestling world at 132 pounds. He will work hard to stay there in his senior and final season in 2022.
Boys All-WAC First Team
| Weight | Name | School | Record | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | Kaden Spragis | GB | 37-4 | 2nd |
| 113 | Avery Wolf | GB | 38-8 | 4th |
| 120 | John Szot | GB | 20-10 | |
| 126 | Ryan Heiman | GC | 18-8 | |
| 132 | Damian Mendez* | DC | 35-0 | 1st |
| 138 | Erick Dominguez | GC | 24-2 | 1st |
| 145 | Rudy Hernandez | DC | 17-12 | SQ |
| 152 | Luke Barker | DC | 34-4 | 2nd |
| 160 | Marcelino Otero | DC | 37-3 | 1st |
| 170 | Ruben Rayas | DC | 24-6 | 4th |
| 182 | Tony Rivero | LIB | 21-4 | 3rd |
| 195 | Roman Loya | DC | 29-11 | 5th |
| 220 | Gavin Meyers | HAYS | 24-3 | 6th |
| 285 | Sebastian Lopez | GC | 25-5 | 3rd |
*Wrestler of Year: Damian Mendez, Dodge City
Boys All-WAC Second Team
| Weight | Name | School | Record | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | Julius Medina | GC | 15-13 | |
| 113 | Raymond Hernandez | DC | 18-17 | SQ |
| 120 | Frio Vontress | DC | 28-13 | |
| 126 | Ismael Ramirez | DC | 28-15 | 5th |
| 132 | Austin Moore | GB | 14-15 | |
| 138 | Wyatt Weber | GB | 32-3 | 1st |
| 145 | Steven Sellers | GC | 20-9 | |
| 152 | Colin Kleysteuber | GC | 16-12 | |
| 160 | Josh Janas | GC | 26-6 | 3rd |
| 170 | Gage Reimer | GB | 25-9 | |
| 182 | Scott Heilman | GB | 18-10 | |
| 195 | Keyven Schroeder | GB | 27-12 | |
| 220 | Santonio Turner | DC | 24-15 | 4th |
| 285 | Angel Aguilera | DC | 24-10 | SQ |
Girls All-WAC First Team
| Weight | Name | School | Record | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Breckyn Elliot | GB | 18-7 | 6th |
| 109 | Sarah Zimmerman | Hays | 27-5 | 2nd |
| 115 | Sara Chapa | GC | 9&4 | |
| 120 | Ariana De La Rosa | DC | 24-7 | 4th |
| 126 | Bre Ridgeway* | GB | 36-0 | 1st |
| 132 | Anjelina Serrano | GC | 18-4 | 2nd |
| 138 | Dayanara Garcia | DC | 24-6 | SQ |
| 143 | Autumn Perez | DC | 20-5 | 2nd |
| 155 | Ashley Arroyo | DC | 22-2 | 2nd |
| 170 | Jolette Almaraz | DC | 16-5 | 4th |
| 191 | Ashley Martinez | DC | 7-7 | 6th |
| 235 | Sindy Guiterrez | DC | 3-9 |
*Wrestler of Year: Bre Ridgeway, Great Bend
Girls All-WAC Second Team
| Weight | Name | School | Record | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Chole Sullivan | GC | 9-6 | 3rd |
| 109 | Alyssa Nichols | DC | 14-11 | |
| 115 | Emily Alonzo | DC | 10-14 | |
| 120 | Daizy Gomez | GB | 22-16 | SQ |
| 126 | Belle Hernandez | GC | 17-7 | 2nd |
| 132 | Lexi Deines | GB | 25-9 | |
| 138 | Bethanee Cruz | GC | 16-11 | 5th |
| 143 | Angel Serrano | GC | 13-14 | SQ |
| 155 | Alondra Guzman | GC | 17-7 | 5th |
| 170 | Kalista Rhodes | GC | 8-8 | |
| 191 | Lilly Moore | GC | 6-11 | SQ |
