Winning state wrestling championships at the same weight class in 2021 during their respective junior seasons was a memorable moment for both Great Bend’s Breanna Ridgeway and Dodge City’s Damian Mendez.
Those performances enabled the pair to earn Western Athletic Conference Wrestlers of the Year for their divisions. They accomplished those with perfect records of 36-0 and 35-0.
To top those efforts, the two knew they would face many challenges with such a big target on their backs heading into the final senior campaigns.
However, they added icing to their cakes recently, repeating not only WAC Wrestler of the Year honors, but repeating state championships to cap off an amazing two-year run.
GIRLS WAC WRESTLER OF THE YEAR – BREANNA RIDGEWAY, GREAT BEND, SR.
During her junior season, Breanna Ridgeway swept through her opponents with a perfect 36-0 record en route to the Class 5-6A state championship in her 132-pound division.
What to do for an encore?
“I had the same mindset this year because of what I went through with my mental stuff and not think bad about my matches,” Ridgeway said a few days after repeating her state gold-medal finish and a 37-1 record in the pocket. “I just kept a positive mindset and it helped with winning the matches.”
In a season of many impressive matches, the consistent part of Ridgeway’s record was in each victory, she pinned every single opponent.
“Last year, I didn’t take that many shots so I decided I’d shoot more my senior year and get more takedowns,” Ridgeway said. “I think my junior year I was just waiting for my opponent to screw up. The big thing was just to keep my head straight.”
Ridgeway’s lone setback in her senior year came at the hands of Class 4-3-2-1A state champion Hope Blake (24-0) of Mission Valley at the Rock Creek Invitational in mid-January.
“She’s really good, but I think now that the loss helped me,” Ridgeway said. “I really hadn’t seen a good wrestler up until then and it just made me more aware of how important it is to be the aggressor.”
At the state tourney, Ridgeway secured pins of Alissa Harris of Kansas City-Sumner Academy (2:26), Olivia Randle of Andover (0:44) in the quarters, another pin of Kamahni Jackson of Kansas City-Harmon at 1:35 and then a pin of Hailey Ramos of Dodge City at 3:06.
“The semifinal was the most memorable because I had to work extra to get a second throw and eventually got the pin,” Ridgeway said. “I got her in a headlock and that put me in the finals. It was a big relief to make it back to the championship match.”
Ridgeway plans to attend Barton Community College next fall, but the school does not have a wrestling program. She had originally signed with Hastings (Neb.) College, but opted out when the school did not have her dental hygienist major in its curriculum.
“I’d like to maybe do some coaching at the middle school level for a year and then decide where to go and wrestle again,” Ridgeway said of her plans. “I know I want to stay connected with wrestling in some way.”
A third-place finish in her sophomore season, followed by the two state titles is something that Ridgeway said she hopes will leave a legacy.
“I know it made my hometown people and the school proud,” she said. “I was part of starting a program and we have some good wrestlers coming up. I see it continuing and that’s a good thing to see.”
Repeating WAC Wrestler of the Year means even more to Ridgeway as she completed her final year.
“Winning a year ago was special, but knowing how difficult it is to repeat, makes this even more amazing,” she said.
Dodge City’s girls, highly-ranked all season, captured the 6A team title to give the WAC its first girls’ wrestling team title in the brief three-year period of the sport at the varsity level in Kansas. Garden City’s girls had captured third place in 2021.
BOYS WAC WRESTLER OF THE YEAR – DAMIAN MENDEZ, DODGE CITY, SR.
One would not be wise to underestimate the tenacity of Dodge City’s Damian Mendez when he steps onto the wrestling mat.
His four-year run at Dodge City High School perhaps is unmatched in school history.
He is a three-time state champion, having won titles his freshman season in 2019, finished second his sophomore year in 2020, and then capped off two unbeaten seasons as a junior and senior in 2021 and 2022 to complete a remarkable 159-9 won-loss record.
Included in that statistic is a 107-1 mark in his last three seasons, losing only in the finals of his Class 6A state tournament. He also is the new record holder for most takedowns in a single season in Kansas high school wrestling history and did not surrender a single takedown or reversal since his sophomore year.
In his final season, Mendez won 45 matches, including wins in Colorado over a pair of highly ranked and state championship wrestlers from that state. Twice he defeated a Discovery Canyon wrestler who was top-ranked in Colorado.
“It just feels like all the hard work paid off,” said Mendez a few days after finishing his career as the two-time 132-pound champion. “It feels unreal in a way after winning last year. I just want to enjoy the experience. I learned so much from my coaches and that’s why I continued to get better each year.”
Mendez has a simple philosophy when it comes to wrestling while utilizing his strength and agility to his advantage.
“I want to wear them down and try to see all the different ways I can attack,” he said. “You have to break them down first, and then you go for their weaknesses. From my junior to senior year I think I got better from the bottom (position). I used to struggle a little with that, but now I’ve learned how to use the legs and use some fakes to get them off balance.”
When mentioned about his 80-0 record the last two seasons, Mendez had a measured response.
“It doesn’t feel like I wrestled 80 matches,” he said. “I’ve had some tough matches, especially the Colorado tournament in Greeley. That was where I wrestled two No. 1 wrestlers. They were tough and close matches. In the finals I just barely won by a 3-2 decision. I was able to take him down and then get an escape.”
At the 6A state tournament in Park City at Hartman Arena, Mendez was his usual impressive self during his four victories. He pinned Joey Kingsby of Olathe Northwest in just 54 seconds; he pinned Kyden Blake of Junction City before the first period was barely under way. It took him 41 seconds into the second period to pin Collin Smith of Gardner-Edgerton in the semifinals.
Perhaps he saved the most impressive performance for the championship match.
Competing against Jacob Bradley of Olathe East, Mendez recorded seven takedowns for 14 points, two near-falls worth three points each and added a reversal in what became a 21-5 rout that ended at the 5:01 mark of the third period.
“I just wanted to see what I could do in that situation and it was a great way to finish off my high school wrestling,” Mendez said of that rout of Bradley.
With his hugely successful career at the high school level now in the books, Mendez is excitedly looking ahead to wrestling in college. He has signed with North Dakota State University and will wrestle at a school that competes in the Big 12 for the sport, going against the likes of Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma powerhouses.
“I might redshirt the first year just to get adjusted to the college life,” he said. “It might make the transition a lot easier once I am competing for a spot on the team.”
His plans also include studying to become a sports psychologist or therapist for his academic pursuits.
“I want to be sure I like the area of study that I take,” he said.
Mendez said when he was a young boy, he would come to the high school and look at the past state champions’ names on the wall.
“I told myself then that I wanted my name to be up there, so I had that goal for a long time,” he said. “There’s a lot of great names up there and I just want to leave a legacy that encourages the young wrestlers who will follow.”
WAC teams showcased at state
Six state champions were crowned from the five WAC boys’ teams.
In addition to Mendez, Garden City 285-pound sophomore Sebastian Lopez captured the 6A crown to finish a 32-2 record. Lopez pinned Brett Carroll in the third period of his match after trailing 5-0 at the end of the second period.
Gavin Meyers of Hays won the 220-pound Class 5A division and finished 37-0. Great Bend’s Kaden Spragis captured the 120-pound weight class in 5A and finished 42-7, Wyatt Weber took the 138-pound division with a 43-3 record. Dodge City Luke Barker completed an impressive season, too, taking the 170-pound group to finish 41-1.
Garden City’s boys placed third in the team standings, finishing behind Topeka-Washburn Rural and Derby. Dodge City was fifth. In Class 5A, Great Bend took fifth and Hays 12th.
WAC Team Champions – Garden City (4-0)
Boys First Team All-Conference Selections
| Weight | Name | Year | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | Braydon Pacheco | 9 | Garden City |
| 113 | Dylan Wainscott | 10 | Dodge City |
| 120 | Kaden Spragis | 12 | Great Bend |
| 126 | Ryan Heiman | 11 | Garden City |
| 132 | Damian Mendez | 12 | Dodge City |
| 138 | Wyatt Weber | 12 | Great Bend |
| 145 | Ethan Allen | 10 | Garden City |
| 152 | Colin Kleysteuber | 11 | Garden City |
| 160 | Easton Zapien | 12 | Liberal |
| 170 | Luke Barker | 11 | Dodge City |
| 182 | Alan Chairez | 11 | Garden City |
| 195 | Brody Schnoebelen | 9 | Great Bend |
| 220 | Gavin Meyers | 12 | Hays |
| 285 | Gavin Nutting | 12 | Hays |
Coach of the Year: Carlos Prieto, Garden City
Second Team All-Conference Selections
| Weight | Name | Year | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | Elijah McCullough | 10 | Hays |
| 113 | Tacoma Augustine | 10 | Hays |
| 120 | Raymond Hernandez | 10 | Dodge City |
| 126 | Avery Wolf | 12 | Great Bend |
| 132 | Harley Zimmerman | 10 | Hays |
| 138 | Sebastian Rodriguez | 12 | Garden City |
| 145 | Ismael Ramirez | 12 | Dodge City |
| 152 | Skyler McMullen | 11 | Great Bend |
| 160 | Salvador Barintas | 12 | Garden City |
| 170 | Trystian Juarez | 11 | Liberal |
| 182 | Matthew Johnson | 10 | Great Bend |
| 195 | Roman Loya | 11 | Dodge City |
| 220 | Keyven Schroeder | 10 | Great Bend |
| 285 | Sebastian Lopez | 10 | Garden City |
Girls First Team All-Conference Selections
| Weight | Name | Year | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Mana Chanthasone | 11 | Liberal |
| 109 | Sarah Zimmerman | 11 | Hays |
| 115 | Sara Chapa | 12 | Garden City |
| 120 | Denys Ochoa | 9 | Dodge City |
| 126 | Ariana De La Rosa | 10 | Dodge City |
| 132 | Breanna Ridgeway | 12 | Great Bend |
| 138 | Bethanie Cruz | 11 | Garden City |
| 143 | Alondra Guzman | 12 | Garden City |
| 155 | Ashley Arroyo | 11 | Dodge City |
| 170 | Jolette Almarez | 11 | Dodge City |
| 191 | Leilani Torres | 12 | Liberal |
| 235 | Sindy Gutierrez | 10 | Dodge City |
Coach of the Year: Tate Lowe, Dodge City
Girls First Team All-Conference Selections
| Weight | Name | Year | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Jessica Rivera | 9 | Garden City |
| 109 | Ashley Alonso | 9 | Dodge City |
| 115 | Rosa Campos | 12 | Great Bend |
| 120 | Addison Otte | 10 | Hays |
| 126 | Daizy Gomez | 10 | Great Bend |
| 132 | Hailey Ramos | 9 | Dodge City |
| 138 | Dayanara Garcia | 10 | Dodge City |
| 143 | Sierra Ferguson | 10 | Great Bend |
| 155 | Angel Serrano | 11 | Garden City |
| 170 | Jasmine Rangel | 9 | Liberal |
| 191 | Haylee Holinde | 9 | Great Bend |
| 235 | Kynslee White | 11 | Great Bend |
