HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM: A lifetime of preparation paid off for Ryan

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By Ashley Ruden, Mount Vernon seniorMOUNT VERNON - Mount Vernon senior Trey Ryan is a four-sport athlete who has been chasing the dream of being on top of the state wrestling podium ever since he was a little boy.Becoming a state champion isn't easy. It's a lot of blood, sweat, tears and hard work. After qualifying for state for four years, Ryan finally reached his goal.Last month, Ryan qualified for state at 170 pounds. He breezed through the first two rounds and in the semifinals faced an opponent he had lost to earlier in the season, Adam Drain of Mediapolis. This time, Ryan came out on top, 6-2, earning his second berth in the championship bout.After falling short and getting the silver last year, Ryan was ready for his final match.'I just kept working hard in the room and kept doing what the coaches told me to do, and just had to pound it through the season,' he said.Ryan's strategy was to score early and  often 'because if you're scoring than the other guy can't score,' he said. He stuck to his plan and came out of the match on top, beating Tyler Lutes of BCLUW.Ryan not only accomplished his goal of being a state champion, he broke several records along the way. He set the record of career pins with 86, passing Matt Kroul's 79 career pins from 2004. Ryan is tied for most pins in a season with 26 with Kroul, Devon Gonzalez (`07) and Nelson Jerabek (`09). He also set the record for the most wins in a season with 47 and is first in career wins the 157 .'It feels great standing on the number one spot this year, definitely way better than last year,' Ryan said.Ryan started chasing his dream when he was 6 years old. His older brother, Jacob Ryan (`07), always has had a big impact on his wrestling career. Trey loved watching Jake wrestle and wrestling with him.'I'm striving to do what he did because he had a great career, too,' said Trey.Jake and Trey aren't the only wrestlers in the family. Their dad, Dave (`85), wrestled for Mount Vernon High School, too. The Ryans have three more wrestlers coming up throughout the years and now have Jake and Trey to look up to.Trey first started wrestling when his parents entered him into a "pee wee" club. He continued with that program until moving into the "little kids" wrestling club. He competed in local wrestling tournaments and several AAU state events. He continued to wrestle in middle school and then joined the high school program.Wrestling isn't like any other high school sport, he said.'It's all on you, if you screw up it's no one else's fault, you can't blame it on anyone else," Ryan said. "It's very individual.'Unlike some wrestlers, Ryan doesn't have a prematch ritual. But he has worn the same shirt before every match since fourth grade.Throughout high school, Ryan wrestled at four different weights - 135, 145, 160 and 170. Although he never cut a lot of weight, the hardest part was not drinking a lot of liquids.'When you cut a lot of weight it, you don't really think about wrestling, you just think about cutting the weight, it makes you not like the sport,' he said.With eight siblings - Jacob, Emily, Sarah, Libby, Paul, Lauren, Henry and Michael -Trey gets a ton of support.'She usually helps make all of my meals, so that's pretty great, too,' Ryan said of his mother.Ryan has had a very successful high school wrestling career. He placed sixth as a sophomore to go along with his runner-up finish his junior year.Preparing for the 2014 season, Ryan had his mind set on what he wanted - he was going for the gold.'It was always my goal to be on top and to be the best in the state,' he said .For more photos, check out this slideshow: