Somehow, the furniture at the Rodriguez house survived.
“We never actually broke anything,” Reese Rodriguez said. “We’d wrestle in the living room or in our bedrooms. We’d put each other in cradles or tag team against each other. It was all the time, basically.”
Reese, now a junior wrestling at 132 pounds for Morton, is the youngest of the three Rodriguez children, with older brothers Rickie and Ruben having already graduated from the same program.
With the help of those older siblings who were his opponents in those living room matches, Reese is looking to make his third appearance at the state finals.
“When I came in as a freshman, I was shocked that I made it to state,” Reese said. “My brothers kept telling me that I had to make it and I said I’d try.”
He returned to the state meet as a sophomore last season, again losing his first match.
“Coming up short twice on Friday night, he wants to go back and wrestle on Saturday now,” Morton coach Kevin Persley said. “He wants it a little bit more. You can see that desire in his eyes this year.”
Persley, who has coached all three Rodriguez brothers, said Reese’s ability to react to attacks is his most unique trait.
“His counter defense is better than both of theirs,” Persley said. “We’re trying to get him to be more offensive. But his counter defense … it’s dangerous.”
Reese had a slow start to this season, missing time with a concussion and then having multiple meets canceled because of the weather.
But he looked like his old self during Saturday’s Garry Burkhart Invitational in Hobart, beating Lowell’s Shawn Hollis in a thrilling overtime match for the 132-pound championship.
Afterward, Reese had a brief meeting with his two brothers, who are typically there to cheer him on from the crowd and offer their critiques.
“They told me it was sloppy, and it was,” Reese said. “I just have to work on wrestling neutral. Ruben said he’s going to come in next week and work with me on that.”
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That part of Reese’s arsenal has been a focal point all season.
“This year, I haven’t been the best at neutral,” he said. “My top and bottom game, I feel like I have that down. But I just need to tweak that neutral a little bit.”
And his brothers, just like in those living room matches, continue to help out Reese.
“It’s good having them there because they’re repeating a lot of the things that I tell him,” Persley said. “And they have their own ideas, too. They’re all on the same page.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Top 5
With last week’s rankings in parentheses.
1. Portage (1)
2. Chesterton (2)
3. Crown Point (3)
4. Merrillville (4)
5. Hobart (5)
Wrestler of the Week: Hobart senior Dante Colza finished first at 160 pounds during Saturday’s Garry Burkhart Invitational, improving his season record to 25-3.