Throughout his academic/athletic career Pipestone’s Blake Wolters has found himself in big situations.
And whether in the trenches as an offensive lineman in the Minnesota State High School League Section 3AA championship football game, at the plate with his Arrows needing a big hit in a tight baseball tilt or participating in finals of the Extemporaneous Speaking competition at the state FFA championships, the 2016 Pipestone Area High School graduate has not only risen to the occasion but also has welcomed the intensity accompanying those situations.
On December 16, 2018, Wolters – a red-shirt sophomore at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. – once again found himself in a position to not only come up big for his team and his school, but also for himself.
With the ‘Jacks’ trailing the hosting Oregon State Beavers, 17-16, heading into heavyweight bout in Corvallis, Ore., Wolters stepped onto the mat with the outcome of the dual meet squarely on his shoulders.
The somewhat undersized heavyweight took control of his match against Jamarcus Grant, also a red-shirt sophomore, in the second period with a takedown and a penalty point and finished off the Jacks’ thrilling 19-17 comeback victory with a trio of third-period points for a 6-1 win.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been put in that position, down by one (point) and you have to go out and win – energy flowing and hostile territory – that was fun, but I’ve been there before,” said Wolters, son to Pipestone’s Terry and Sylvia Wolters. “I love the pressure, you can put it on me and I’ll fight for you; I love it, and win or lose it makes you better – every time.”
And Wolters didn’t buckle under the pressure of his looming graduation from PAS in the spring of 2016 either. The three-sport athlete, who helped the Arrows reach the MSHSL state football tournament for the first time in 35 years in November of 2014, and a year later finish as the Class AA runners up, while placing third in the heavyweight division at the 2015-16 Class A state wrestling tournament in St. Paul was sure he wanted to continue his athletic career at the next level. However, after weighing his options and waiting for the right football offer to come his way, Wolters received the phone call that would change the trajectory of his schooling, his athletic career and… his life.
“I was going to go play football somewhere, and I was set on that,” he said. “Kind of out of the blue, SDSU assistant wrestling coach Jon Reader got hold of me and said, ‘what’s your future like? Where do you want to be? Ever consider wrestling?’ I was shocked and told him, ‘I don’t have the credentials other college wrestlers have.’ So, it’d never crossed my mind, whereas in football I had credentials. I went on a visit, went to a dual match in Brookings and then spoke with my (high school) coach.
“(Brian) Bos told me there’s nothing like the chance to be a Division I athlete. You’re right, I said, and so I went for it. The agricultural nature of the study there at SDSU made it easier because a lot of the schools I was looking at to play football for didn’t have the same classes. It’s something I’m used to, something I wanted to study, and I knew I’d be comfortable being around kids with Ag backgrounds and good morals… felt like home.”
INTO THE FIRE
Although he’s always been up to a challenge, Wolters – like any young college freshman – felt pressure during his initial semester of college.
The atmosphere is different, the classes are more demanding, and being outside of the comforts of home for the first time over an extended period can certainly create anxiety. Throw in early-morning and evening practices before and after arduous classes and lectures and college life can be overwhelming.
“It was definitely a big jump, and you have to figure how to balance that out on your own,” Wolters said. “You come into the (wrestling) room and you’re an 18-year-old boy wrestling 23-year-old men. They beat you up a lot, and you have to keep working through it. School is an effort thing, but with both you put in the time and it’ll happen. You have to find that right balance of time to do your studies and accomplish what you want from your athletic career.
“I’m fortunate to have had some great people, coaches and teachers, who helped prepare me in high school. Coach Bos was always saying, ‘be here on time, be here to work, and it’s time for this right now… doesn’t matter what happened in math or biology, right now it’s about wrestling.’ He instilled that in me, and I applied it to school as well. A lot of teachers got on board with that, too, and helped push me – not settle for just getting by.”
And participating in team sports throughout his life, Wolters also knew he could rely on those in his immediate sphere to provide direction and support. Although there was doubt, at times, he was bolstered by his new athletic family when he felt himself poised for a fall.
“Yeah, I think that doubt goes through everybody’s head,” he said. “Workouts are hard, and that first preseason is real rough on you mentally. You’re sore as you’re going to classes the first time. It’s tough; you’re tired, sore lifting, getting up early to run the next day, and the wrestling is hard. Through it all, though, you know you’re part of a team, and your teammates are there to help lift you up – there to tell you ‘tomorrow’s going to be better.’ They make even the hardest situations fun by joking around. Eventually, it all becomes fun; it becomes easier, and you know it is all worthwhile.
Unlike many intercollegiate sports wrestling is unique in that young student/athletes see immediate action. Whereas in other sports where an athlete might see some time on a junior varsity squad over a limited schedule, Open tournaments provide young college wrestlers vast opportunities to compete from the get-go as they look to hone their skills for varsity competition and work toward joining that varsity lineup.
While most incoming freshmen end up red-shirting, those tournaments also provide coaches with a base to evaluate their athletes and strategize as how best to prepare them for the varsity arena.
“Nobody really red-shirts until March, but you’re expected to red-shirt because of that jump in skill,” Wolters said. “Not everybody does, but there’s a mold you work into and you go through the growing pains. That’s the beauty of those Open tournaments. Anyone can wrestle, and they allow you to get better while competing. In football you can’t just go play in a random game, so those tournaments really help you get the building blocks, expand your skill set and perfect your craft. Going to those ‘Opens’ was a big deal; now it’s transitioned into using that skill set and fine tuning that set, going out in a starting role and putting it all on the line with a Jackrabbit singlet on.”
MONKEY WRENCH
Although he’s now worked his way into the starting heavyweight role, through steady improvement and the departure of Cambridge, Iowa’s Alex Macki, Wolters had to traverse a bump or two on his journey.
After wrestling for Reader and head coach Chris Bono during his initial two years at SDSU, Wolters had to prove himself once more as the coaching duo left for green pastures – taking over the reins of the University of Wisconsin wrestling program in March (2018).
While Wolters has proven himself a quick study regarding adjusting to varying situations, but the change left him with mixed feelings and apprehension.
“Chris Bono and Jon Reader were a big part of why I decided to go to SDSU,” Wolters said. “That’s part of the deal, though, because it’s a business. When you get an opportunity to get a raise and move on to a bigger program you usually don’t say ‘no,’ and that was the case here. It stings at first and you start to wonder where you’ll fit in with the new staff, but I love these guys (new coaching staff); they’re awesome, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”
Although Wolters was impressive in a pair of seasons where recorded three top-four finishes in Open tournaments (won heavyweight title with 3-0 record at Ridgewater Open (1/14/17), placed second a week later at Worthington Open (1/21/17), and turned in a 4-2 record for a fourth-place finish at Sioux City Open (2/4/17, backed up Macki at heavyweight, posting a 2-1 duals record and a mark of 16-14 overall (placing fifth at the Bison Open (11/11/17), recording third-place finishes at the Finn Grinaker (11/18/17) and Worthington Opens (1/20/18) and finishing with a fourth-place finish at North Country Open (1/27/18), Wolters had to go out and impress another well-recognized coaching staff – headed up by Damion Hahn.
Prior to accepting the position as SDSU, Hahn had spent 12 successful years as an assistant and later as an associate head coach at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York – helping the ‘Big Red’ post 11 top-10 team finishes in the NCAA Championships, including consecutive runner-up finishes in 2010-2011. During his tenure, Hahn mentored 50 All-Americans, 12 of whom were individual NCAA champions. Cornell also won 12 straight Ivy League dual championships and 11 consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association team titles.
No stranger to the Midwest, Hahn won NCAA individual titles in his junior and senior seasons with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, won three individual Big 10 titles, was named the Jesse Owens Big 10 Male Athlete of the Year in 2004, was named to four All-American teams and won the NCAA team title with the Gophers during his freshman and sophomore campaigns.
GAINING CONFIDENCE AND SIZE
Both grapller and coach entered the summer unsure of how the next season might play out. And as neither mentor nor pupil knew much of the other, Hahn and Wolters were eager to strike up a relationship.
“I did not know Blake at all,” Hahn said. “He was one of the first ones that I got to know, though, and he’s a hard-working kid – he’s big and he stands out. When you have a big kid who’s willing to work hard and do what’s necessary, he automatically stands out.”
Wolters knew, with Macki graduating and a new coaching staff coming in, the time had come to parlay that hard work into something more – a starting role.
“I kind of knew I was the next guy, the next one up, and we (he and Hahn) put in a lot of work this summer,” Wolters said. “There were highs and lows, but it all started clicking. Coach Cody Caldwell (a remaining coach from Bono’s staff) looked at me and said, ‘you’re our guy.’ He and coach Hahn put a lot of faith in me and that was huge during the summer and preseason. It was probably the Oregon State match, though, where I knew I could go out and wrestle with these dudes – no matter what.”
Although Wolters’ dual-winning triumph in Oregon certainly went far in cementing his place in the varsity lineup, Hahn pointed to one of the grappler’s next matches, at the ensuing Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Hoffman Estates, Ill., as a another big step forward.
“Oh, heck yeah, that Oregon State win was big,” Hahn said. “Anytime you can get a win, and it came down to him, that wins the dual it’s going to build confidence. I thought he had a great win at Midlands, too, wrestling a guy from Campbell that had to be six-foot-four and every bit of 300 pounds… massive. And Blake goes out and gets a win there. Those are the matches that show him he can compete with these guys. He can compete with the best, but it’s a process and he has to keep working.”
In beating Campbell University’s red-shirt freshman Laith Alsous, 2-1, at ‘Midlands,’ Wolters squared off against a prototypical college heavyweight. Alsous won a New York state wrestling championship as a senior and was named 2017 NHSCA All-American for the second time following that campaign.
Although Wolters, under the tutelage of Coach Bos at Pipestone Area high school, qualified for the Minnesota Class A state tournament in both his junior and senior seasons, with respective records of 30-10 and 37-3, and placed third at state during his final prep season, he didn’t necessarily match up well against the likes of the aforementioned Alsous in either size or pedigree.
That, however, didn’t dissuade Hahn from quickly formulating a plan for his new heavyweight.
“Every weight class is different and heavyweight is completely different,” he said. “No disrespect to any wrestlers in particular, but it’s no secret the best athletes in the country are playing football and basketball. So, when I get a big, athletic guy who works extremely hard, the program can reap the benefits.
“Coming in Blake wasn’t a highly recruited guy by any means, but his work ethic and his ability to learn can take him to the next level. He has those things, and I’m excited for the future and seeing him progress.
The rub, however, is gaining size without losing mobility or endurance.
“One of the biggest things in seeing him from last year to this year was his size. He’s been working extremely hard in getting bigger and stronger. It’s kind of a double-edged sword because you want to get bigger and you want to get stronger, but you also want to build your conditioning. So, you’re battling those things against one another. You’re trying to get big and then you’re working hard and losing all this weight… it’s tough.”
However, as Coach Bos will tell you, Wolters isn’t one to shy away from any challenge – whether it be in the wrestling room or in the classroom.
“He set his sights on being a college wrestler, which surprised me a little because I thought he was going to go and try to play football,” he said of his former heavyweight. “He fell in love with wrestling and wanted to do that; he’s slowly improved where he’s gotten himself a varsity spot there and, hopefully, he continues to get better.”
“You always have those thoughts and reservations with those kids who move on to college programs, whether or not they have what it takes to make it, but Blake’s a pretty strong-headed kid. He set his goals on doing this and I know the fire is there for him to make a career out of it and see it through. I try to stay in touch with him whenever I can, and when he’s in town – came in over Christmas break – he wants to get in the weight room a little bit. It’s that kind of work ethic that will help Blake realize his goals.”
FAMILY SUPPORT
Family support is written all over the walls at the Wolters’ homestead. Actually, it’s written on a small billboard in the front yard of their acreage on the north side of state highway 30, east of Pipestone. Where once the two-panel sign read ‘Go Arrows’ on both sides in green and black on a white background, it now reads ‘Go Jacks’ on the west-facing facade in blue and gold– clearly outlining the family’s allegiances to the schools both Blake and his sister Bailey (Wolters) Galbraith have attended.
The billboard, however, is the smallest of parts in a vastly supportive whole that includes the family attending every athletic event possible, throwing team meals and parties, tailgating and – of course – warm embraces following both triumphs and defeats.
And like Blake, Terry and Sylvia and Bailey and her husband Austin Galbraith have embraced the entirety of new family in Brookings. Coaches, teammates and parents alike have felt the warmth of the Wolters support and values.
“You can’t ask for better people than the Wolters,” Hahn said. “They’re here and supporting everything we’re trying to do as a program. They open their arms and their houses to our kids, to our team, and when you have caring people who value the experience these kids are going through – it’s BIG.
“It takes a community to pick these kids back up when you suffer a defeat, and it takes a program, an administration, a family network to say, ‘hey, that’s the worst that’s ever going to happen. Tomorrow’s a new day, and we’re going to keep building and keep on working.’ When you have that kind of support, not only from our people, but also people like the Wolters and the Carlsons it’s great and it’s important. If we’re going to take this program to newer heights it’s going to happen together.”
Having always heavily leaned on their support, Wolters is not only proud to have been able to share his journey with his family, but also he’s extremely proud to share their backing with his coaches and teammates.
“Being close makes it nice for me and my teammates,” said Wolters, whose sister recently hosted a party at her Brookings home on the Saturday between home duals. “Some of my teammates come from far away in Texas and Ohio, and they get to go home maybe once a year. It’s great that my family has kind of adopted them and hangs out with them as their ‘family’ away from home. My parents help out however they can, and I can’t thank them enough for their support.”
GOALS
With sublime support and top-notch instruction, prior to and during his evolution as a wrestler, Wolters certainly has all the pieces he needs to puzzle out goals – both athletic and professional.
“I have high hopes,” said Wolters who is in his junior (academic) year of an Agricultural and Bio Systems Engineering degree. “I want to be an All-American; that’s right, I want to be an All-American and be the best person I can be while I’m doing it. So, whether that’s shaking someone’s hand or signing someone’s picture, I’m going to be doing that, and then it’s going out and winning on the mat. Throughout it all I’ll be working hard in the (wrestling) room and classroom and getting that payoff that comes with all that stuff.”
While Coach Hahn has no doubts Wolters can attain those lofty heights, he is quick to point out Blake, alone, will prevent him from getting there.
“One: you could say he has something to prove,” Hahn said. “He didn’t come in with all the accolades, but he needs to have confidence in his work ethic and the abilities he does have. ‘Have confidence that when you step on the mat no heavyweight in the country has worked as hard as you.’”
“Two: have confidence in the things you can touch, the things you can feel. And that’s the hardest part for him because he doesn’t have the wins and losses to have confidence in. So he has to have confidence in the body of work he’s done. He is good technically, but he has to keep working on that mental side. He’s only a red-shirt sophomore, and he has time. I’m looking forward to seeing him ‘adjust’ to becoming bigger and stronger and growing into that anchor we need.”
And whether an opponent is bigger and/or stronger, at the college level it can be anyone’s day.
“That’s the beautiful thing about sport in general,” Hahn added. “You don’t necessarily have to be the better quarterback, pitcher or wrestler all the time, you just have to be it on that day. What will stop Blake from reaching his goals is Blake himself. That’s the hardest part.”
We’ll see you on the podium, Blake!