Russo-inspired wrestler Reese Larramendy is ‘flourishing’ with Iowa

IOWA CITY — There will be no mistaking Reese Larramendy’s walkout music from her teammates’ go-to songs at Iowa women’s wrestling’s next dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Good luck getting the name of the song or the artist out of her.

"I’ll keep it secret now, but I’m excited for people to hear it,“ Larramendy said.

It will be particularly distinguishable and almost certainly different from her teammates, though, because it will be Russian.

“They’re not going to know where they are in the moment,” Larramendy said.

It is part of her love — or as associate head coach Gary Mayabb described it, a shared “fascination” — of Russia.

Larramendy’s interest in Russia — not its geopolitics, but simply its culture — started with watching Russian wrestling.

“When I first started to get a bigger interest in wrestling, when I started to fall in love with it and love everything about it, I just started watching videos,” Larramendy said.

Naturally, considering how well Russian men’s wrestlers have performed over the last several decades, that meant watching a lot of Russian wrestling.

Her interest in the Eurasian country expanded from there. Mayabb and Larramendy both “love St. Petersburg” although Larramendy is alone in enjoying Russian music.

“It’s hard when it’s like full Russian,” said Larramendy, who “can’t really understand” the Russian language beyond certain phrases.

As Larramendy competes in matches, her teammates yell “davai,” which is a Russian word for “go.”

“If you ever watch a match with Russians, that’s all you hear the coaches say,” Larramendy said.

The Reno, Nev., native has not yet cooked any Russian cuisine, but that could be coming soon.

“I think I’m going to have to get that,” Larramendy said. “Next team gathering is going to be all Russian food. They’re going to love it.”

Larramendy “even dresses like a Russian sometimes in practice,” teammate Marlynne Deede said.

That often involves compression shirts and long shorts over her leggings. She even ordered custom sweatpants — “I call them my custom Sadulaev shorts” — to perfect the Russo-Iowan wrestler look.

“The more Russian I look, the more I could wrestle like them,” Larramendy said. “That’s the secret.”

The Russian music, sayings and practice attire seems to be working considering what Larramendy has done on the mat in the Hawkeyes’ inaugural season.

Larramendy, while splitting opportunities at 143 pounds with Ella Schmit, has gone 8-1 in Iowa’s duals so far this season. That includes three duals in which she was wrestling up at 155 pounds.

Eight of her nine wins in duals have been either falls or technical falls. The one loss in duals was against North Central College — the reigning national champion — and it was only via decision.

She also finished third at the Princeton Tiger Collegiate Open, first at the Missouri Valley College Open and second at Soldier Salute.

“I believe in my heart she’s flourishing,” Mayabb said.

Mayabb raved about her intelligence — not only with her IQ, but also her emotional quotient (EQ) and adversity quotient (AQ).

“Her wrestling IQ is extremely high,” Mayabb said. “Sometimes a wrestling IQ that’s really high, it gets set in its ways. And she hasn’t done that. She’s stayed adaptable, so her AQ is as strong as her IQ. Her EQ — if we’re talking those, her emotional coefficient — has leveled very well.”

Larramendy’s IQ, EQ and AQ have helped her become, in Mayabb’s opinion, “one of the best counter wrestlers in America.”

“She’s a person that upsets her opponent,” Mayabb said. “Nothing fazes her. You can hit her upside the head, and she’s just, ‘OK.’ … It’s what makes her the counter wrestler that she is.”

Along with her poise on the wrestling mat, the sophomore has demonstrated leadership away from competition. That was on display recently when she caught Mayabb “off guard” and “opened up our room a little bit wider to people in need.”

Larramendy introduced her team to child named Liam — a “big Iowa fan” and patient at the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital who Larramendy has gotten to know. As impactful of an experience as it was for Liam, it also left an impact on the Hawkeyes.

“There’s times when you go into the wrestling room, and it’s a little bit hard to get going at first,” Larramendy said. “But to able to have that to get your morning going, sing Happy Birthday, make someone’s day like that — it was easier to get started in practice.”

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