Black Hills lightweights doing some heavy lifting as Wolves’ wrestling program rebuilds

Jason Dick was no stranger to Black Hills High School wrestling.

He’d wrestled against the Wolves as a state runner-up at Elma in 1995, and coached against them during stints at his alma mater and Rochester. He worked with Black Hills athletes who went south to train with the Twin Cities Wrestling Club.

A teacher at Bush Middle School, he jumped at the chance to apply when the Black Hills head coaching job opened up before last season. He set a goal of returning the Wolves to the heights they reached under former coach Mark Grindstaff.

Those plans hit a snag during the pandemic-shortened spring 2021 season when only eight wrestlers turned out for his first team.

This season has been a step up, despite continuing challenges brought on by COVID-19. Thirty athletes began the season and five are headed to regionals, led by senior boys 113-pounder Mikey Johnston and freshman girls 105-pounder Sloane Kruger.

Both are ranked third statewide in their weight divisions by Washington Wrestling report. They’ll be joined in this weekend’s regionals by 106-pound Brody Edwards and 152-pound Ethan Labouff on the boys side and 132-pound Justise Hodge on the girls.

Johnston has reached the state meet twice, but didn’t reach the podium. This year could be different because of a change in his approach.

“Mikey was really rough when I took over,” said Dick. “He had some talent, but we needed to convert him into an aggressive offensive wrestler. It’s a whole different philosophy, a long process of learning how to shoot, how to move your feet.

“A lot of kids are fearful of shooting. I’ve had some success over the years developing them into shooters.”

For Johnston it was a matter of realizing he could be effective taking the match to an opponent.

“I’ve learned I don’t suck at shooting,” he said. “I’ve put in a lot of work learning how my body moves. I’m more offensive, I’ll shoot my shots. I’m more willing to take losses.”

Johnston, who grew up watching his brother Austin wrestle, started the sport in fourth grade and wants to continue in college. With the NCAA’s smallest weight division 125, Johnston will have to continue working to build up his body.

Dick, who wrestled collegiately at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, thinks Johnston can get there.

“He’s disciplined in the room, disciplined on the mat and very coachable,’ he said.

Kruger, originally from New York, where her dad Steve reached the state tournament all four years in high school, didn’t need to be taught offense.

“Sloane likes to pin people and she’s pinned most of her opponents this year,” said Dick. “She’s tough, she’s disciplined and she’s aggressive.”

She’s also a latecomer to the sport, beginning competition late in 2019 after watching her brothers wrestle before her.

“I just love it,” she said. “I like being on a team, I like competing and the thrill of it.”

A winner of four tournaments this season, including the opening Jump On In event at Yelm and last weekend’s sub-regionals, Kruger feels good about her chances going forward.

“I feel very confident. We’ve been watching where everyone is. I’ve been working really hard.”

The December win in Yelm opened Kruger’s eyes to what might be possible.

“I thought ‘this is really different than what I’ve done before,” said Kruger, who like Johnston has traveled out of state for a variety of club wrestling meets. “But it really showed where I was at.”

Shortly thereafter, wrestling came under the microscope as a possible sign of a spreading COVID surge. The Wolves were off the mat for a full month in late December and early January.

“The worst thing is the light-switch mentality,” said Dick. “On-off-on-off. You don’t know if you’re really wrestling today or if the other team might cancel. Our last week we stacked up three dual meets.”

Though there is still some trepidation about positive tests sidelining wrestlers in the post-season, the WIAA’s decision to go ahead with regional and the Mat Classic was welcomed.

“I was super relieved,” said Johnston. “I was scared they were going to cancel it my senior year.”

Meanwhile, dozens of other Olympia-area athletes will vie for state bids in various regionals this week. Perennial power Yelm, ranked in the top 10 of both 3A boys and the all-classifications girls rankings, will send 28 to regionals.