State Wrestling Preview: Small but mighty
By BRANDON HURLEY
Sports Editor
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There’s no sugar-coating it – Greene County freshman McKinley Robbins expects to be a four-time state champ once his career comes to an end, likely joining the ranks of Iowa’s elite.
But first, the second-ranked freshman at 106 pounds must get his initial taste of the Iowa High School state wrestling tournament, which begins today (Feb. 20) at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
The pee-wee and AAU titles don’t matter much now, the real competition is ready. Fresh off his first district title a week ago in Atlantic, Robbins (34-1) is poised to make some significant waves.
“I was pretty excited and pumped that I made it to state for the first time,” Robbins said. “I’m just excited to see what that brings.”
The jitters don’t seem to be as present as they usually are for a freshman. No, Robbins has the experience, and knows he can compete with the best. The state tournament is a fitting cap to a magnificent season, one highlighted by numerous pin falls and a long winning streak, sandwiched around some of the state’s most noteworthy victories.
The rookie held his own back in December against the top-seed in this week’s 106 pound bracket, Webster City’s Cam Phetxoumphone, losing 7-4 at the DC-G Invite. He may have gotten a little too cute in the process, trying to trick the fellow sophomore into a few points. But, Robbins followed his only loss of the winter with a riveting victory over Humboldt’s Cole Nelson a week later, a 10-4 triumph over the then third-ranked wrestler at 106 pounds. That sequence of matches was pivotal, Greene County head coach Zach Beekman said, at the same time proving Robbins belonged with the state’s elite.
“He learned what he needed to do. Against Cole Nelson, it was very clean. It was just tough-nosed grinding, stick to the basics, that type of stuff. He earned that win,” Beekman said. “But, when he wrestled the Webster City kid, I think he was trying to funk a little too much and try some funky moves and roll and get into situations. He didn’t need to do that and ended up costing him.
When you try something and get caught and get a reversal, or you can’t get off the bottom, those things add up over six minutes. Now we know what he’s got to do to beat the top notch kids.”
Coincidentally, Robbins has drawn a fairly tough path to the state championship, as he’s slated to battle with 2A’s fourth-ranked wrestler at 106 pounds, Carter Anderson of Albia (35-3) in the first round during the 2A session at 1:30 p.m. today (Feb. 20). The sophomore finished second in the district 5 tournament, losing to eighth-ranked Chase Fiser of Bondurant-Farrar, 3-1 in the title match. If Robbins were to pull out a victory Thursday afternoon and advance to Friday morning’s quarterfinal round at 9 a.m., he’d likely square off against seventh-ranked Carter Kolthoff. Robbins did avoid Phetxoumphone’s top half of the bracket, but he may potentially also run into fifth-rated Lane Scorpil of Columbus Community in the semifinals. Three top seven guys in three matches is certainly going to test Robbins.
It’s a brutal path, but seems to have little effect on the freshman and his overall goal. The confidence is brimming to the surface, and the state may be in for a treat. The highly-touted Ram is ready to announce his arrival.
“I don’t really focus on certain people, so I don’t study them,” Robbins said. “I know that if I wrestle them solid, I can beat anybody.”
The key, Robbins said, is to never get caught out of position on the mat. Forget the bright lights, forget the fans, forget the hundreds of young athletes competing for the same goal. It’s really quite simple, if he stays true to his form and takes his shots, Robbins has no where to go but up. He has his sights set on Saturday night’s championship round.
“I need to stay solid. You never know when you’re going to get tossed in a headlock, and then it’s all over from there,” Robbins said. “I have to stay in solid position the whole time and I think I’ll get to the finals.”
Beekman believes Robbins’ strength is in his toughness. He’s usually pinning guys before they even get a chance to establish their footing. The freshman’s win-loss record says enough, but he’s hardly ever taken to the mat. There’s no easy way to get at the 106-pounder, and more often than not, even if an opponent gets him in a compromising position, he’s possess a knack to escape.
“He is just tough,” Beekman said. “He gets himself into some positions and you’re like, man, I don’t know how he’s going to get out of it. And he finds a way.”
Not only does Robbins have a special talent to escape even the toughest of moments, he’s got the experience to back it up. His AAU days were littered with championships and accolades.
“He’s been wrestling for a lot of years on the big stages,” Beekman said. “He’s not really shying away from those big matches, he embraces them. Unfortunately, we haven’t had very many tough matches for him this year, but he’s ready to go nonetheless.”
This state tournament run is unique, as Robbins and fellow teammate Brenner Gallagher are two of the smallest guys on the Greene County squad. Gallagher wrestles at 113 pounds, and the two often battle each other in practice. Securing those state tournament tickets have really transformed into a sense of pride.
“We joke around all the time that if I make it, Brenner’s making it, so it’s kind of fun as partners,” Robbins said. “You have a partner at the state tournament that needs to have the same mindset as you, so that holds you both accountable.”
The Class 2A semifinals are set for Friday night’s session at 7:30 p.m. The championship round will commence a day later beginning at 6 p.m. Feb. 22.
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