The bigger they are … the faster they rise

Posted: Jan. 31, 2012

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Tyler Ladwig (left) and Luke Belich

Tyler Ladwig (left) and Luke Belich

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Luke Belich wasn't sure he wanted to subject himself to another injury. Tyler Ladwig wasn't sure he could get his grades to the proper place. Mukwonago wrestling coach Jon Wierzbicki had to usher them both back to the mat.

What started as a series of conversations after the senior duo's freshman year turned out to pay big dividends for everyone involved. Belich (220 pounds) and Ladwig (heavyweight) give the Indians a superb upper part of the lineup, with both ranked top five in the state at their respective flights.

It wasn't a vision everyone could foresee.

"I would say if there are weight classes where you can close that gap, it's the lower weights or the upper weights," Wierzbicki said, referring to the improvement required to move from a non-wrestler to a state-level one. "We're to a point where this might be the strongest we've been in the last two weight classes in a long time. They've grown up together, and it's neat that we have them both in the fold and committed."

The two will attempt to give Mukwonago a conference title in Saturday's Classic 8 meet.

The big hurt

Belich (30-3) had come off surgery as a freshman, and he didn't wrestle that year. He decided to give wrestling one last try as a sophomore.

"At that point, football was my No. 1 sport," he said. "I had wrestled since fifth grade but I didn't make it through a whole season without injuries popping up. I wasn't sure, but I decided to come out, out of the blue."

Belich, who did sustain a concussion at one point as a sophomore, said he had doubts about getting injured again.

"I think he was just a little uncertain to test it," Wierzbicki said. "He was going to lift weights for football and not risk that injury, and for Luke, it was just a conversation for a half hour before the season started. He was a real undersized heavyweight for us, and then we moved him down to 215 because of an injury (elsewhere in the lineup)."

The return to the sport culminated with an appearance at the state tournament last year. Belich was down 2-1 to Dakota Johnson of Elkhorn in the wrestleback at last year's sectional. But Belich tied the match with an escape late in the third period, scored a takedown as the buzzer sounded and emerged with a trip to state.

"It definitely felt like my hard work was paying off for sure," Belich said. "It also meant a lot this year to be chosen captain, along with Tyler and the Mattsons (Hank and Joe)."

The big brother

Ladwig (32-3) also didn't wrestle as a freshman, but Wierzbicki handed out encouragement and incentive to pull up his grades.

"He said, 'Wrestling is part of your whole life, the mental toughness and physical toughness. All the memories you make with your friends, you'll think about all the great times we had,'" Ladwig recalled. "I had bad grades and didn't wrestle and wanted to focus on my grades. That's when we had Russ Davie as our heavier-weights coach. He took me under his wing and made me the heavyweight wrestler since sophomore year."

Both wrestlers credit the former assistant Davie with bringing them up to speed on the varsity level.

"Big guys trust big guys," Wierzbicki said. "(Davie) had a wrestling IQ that was competing internationally, and there were days where they were not bringing their best, and he'd jump in and be a group of three with them. It was definitely a positive having him working with them and really bringing out that potential."

But first, Wierzbicki had to get Ladwig into the wrestling room.

"For Tyler it was a couple visits down to welding class the first week of the season," Wierzbicki said. "At mid-year, he had missed a couple junior varsity practices and we kind of had a moment where it was, 'Are you going to do this or not? If you are, you can't miss any more practices.'

"I remember taking both of them up to the state tournament as sophomores just to watch. We ended up at Noodles and Co. - of course it was the two biggest guys who wanted to join me for mac and cheese at 8 p.m. - and they were really into watching the tournament. The state meet was where some seeds were planted. They realized their potential from there."

The big picture

Ladwig didn't make the individual state tournament last year - he lost in the wrestleback match immediately after Belich's - but he registered a key victory in the team state quarterfinal win over Franklin. Now healed from a shoulder injury that plagued him most of last season, Ladwig is a serious contender for the podium at the state meet.

"That was the best part, being the first team in Mukwonago wrestling history to win a match at state and being close to go to the finals," Ladwig said. "Luke and I have pushed each other throughout everything all practice. If he gets me down, I want to take him down the next time. He's one of my best friends. But when we're on the mat, we try to kill each other."

The workout partners are now a key part of the MHS team, which defeated Wisconsin Rapids in a landmark victory earlier this year but has struggled to match that elite performance.

"After we lost to West Allis Central and Milton, we were brought down to ground level a little bit, and we realized we have to keep working," Belich said. "Now we have guys at their weight classes they should be at. Our team is getting stronger throughout the year."

It goes without saying, both are glad they took that leap as sophomores back to the mat.

"It's something you get into your blood and you just can't get out," Ladwig said.