SOMERS, N.Y. - On Thursday, Feb. 26, the Section One wrestling bus departed for MVP Arena in Albany, and Somers was well represented. TJ Mauro, Ethan Steuber and Ryan Ball — who have wrestled together since fifth grade — made sure to honor years of hard work with strong performances.
Ball finished sixth, while both Steuber and Mauro placed in the top 12.
For Mauro, competing at states for the first time, the 190-pounder initially enjoyed the relaxed bus ride. But on Friday morning, the packed arena rattled him a bit.
“My first match, it got to me,” the Tusker admitted. The resulting loss brought a harsh reality.
“I realized if I lose again, my wrestling career is over,” he said.
Refocusing, Mauro won his next two matches. Despite losing to open Day 2, he still felt accomplished.
Refusing to dwell on the opening loss, Mauro said the path forward was never going to be easy.
“Every match at this tournament is like a sectional championship match,” he explained.
So a tight 2-0 bout heading into the second period came as no surprise. Mauro eventually tipped the scales in his favor.
“I got a takedown and he didn’t respond,” Mauro said of the 4-1 victory.
One win down, Mauro knew what was next.
“I needed one more to get to tomorrow,” he said.
Leading 5-4 in the third period, there was still work to do.
“He escaped to make it 5-5, and in the last 30 seconds I got a takedown,” Mauro said.
The senior credited more than technique for the decisive points.
“Wanting it more in those last 30 seconds,” he told himself. “This is it. This is my career.”
After the win, the team headed back to the hotel, but there was little time to relax. The other demanding part of wrestling — making weight — still loomed.
“They give you an extra pound,” Mauro said. “We got one pound.”
Still, he managed a decent meal from Chipotle and eased his concerns with the help of a teammate.
“Ryan (Ball) had a scale, so I went to his room to weigh myself,” Mauro said.
Safely within the limit, Mauro returned to competition the next day but ran into a tough opponent.
“The kid just outwrestled me,” he said of the major decision that ended his tournament run.
The finality didn’t immediately sink in.
“I hugged my coaches, and as I was walking off, it really hit me when I was taking off my singlet and shoes,” Mauro said.
Even so, he remained proud of what he accomplished.
“I’m sad that it’s over, but I’m happy with my performance. I did way better than I expected and went further than my seeding,” he said.
As for continuing his wrestling career, Mauro is taking some time to decide.
“I’m taking a month off to see how much I miss it,” he said.
Either way, he considers the experience a victory.
“I met a lot of great people and learned a lot,” Mauro said.
He also offered advice for future Somers wrestlers.
“There are going to be times when you don’t feel motivated,” he said. “But if you stay disciplined, you’ll be successful.”
Ninth-seeded Steuber shared a similar perspective.
“Cutting weight or doing extra reps, it’s not something you want to do,” he said. “But it feels good when you work through it, and it’s always worth it.”
After receiving a first-round bye on Day 1, the 110-pounder quickly felt the intensity of the tournament. In a double-overtime victory, Steuber credited a year’s worth of preparation for carrying him through the final seconds.
“I was better prepared,” the senior said.
The final week of preparation at Horace Greeley also played a role, but the state tournament carried a deeper meaning.
“You made it, and everyone there had the highest honor in the area,” Steuber said.
The bus ride didn’t hurt either.
“We mostly joked around and had a good time,” he said.
At the hotel, Steuber remained calm — something he attributes partly to experience.
“I’ve been pretty good at not letting moments become too big,” he said.
Instead, he approached the match with a simple plan.
“I was going to wrestle to my strength. I wasn’t going to force something that wasn’t there,” he explained.
His opponent followed a similar strategy.
“We both wrestled really defensively,” Steuber said, and the approach resulted in a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation.
A minute of overtime solved nothing, and the match went to a coin flip.
“I was ready to do either,” Steuber said. “If I was down, I was going to get out. If I was up, I was going to hold him down.”
His opponent had the choice, and Steuber made the most of the top position.
“Strength and stamina,” he said. “I held him down.”
The quarterfinals proved more difficult.
“He caught me in the same move several times,” Steuber said of the 17-1 loss.
Before Day 2, the one-pound weight allowance again became an issue. After running for an hour and skipping the rest of the night’s meals, Steuber took the situation in stride.
“One pound — it’s better than nothing,” he joked.
Still in contention in the blood round, Steuber fought hard.
“It was a good back-and-forth battle,” he said.
But an 8-5 loss to his Section 4 opponent ended his run.
“If I had a little more time, I win the match,” Steuber said.
Even so, he left the mat without bitterness.
“I was really grateful for all the good things I had in my career,” he said.
The lessons extended beyond wrestling.
“All the hard work — you get what you put into it,” said Steuber, an honor student who plans to study engineering. “It related very well.”
Finally, Ball completed the Somers trio and first appreciated the journey itself.
“Not every school has three wrestlers qualify, so it was fun having my Somers teammates with me on the ride up to Albany,” said the 138-pounder. “TJ, Ethan and I grew up on the youth wrestling circuit since we were five years old.”
This was Ball’s fourth trip to states. After failing to medal his first two appearances, he said a shift in mindset helped him this year.
“Changing my mindset to winning states instead of winning the section was the key to my success,” said the eventual sixth-place finisher.
Like previous years, Ball received a first-round bye — and then faced a familiar opponent.
“I’ve grown up wrestling with Shane at Empire,” Ball said. “His dad, John Degl, has been coaching me at the club for the past 13 years.”
With no secrets between them, Ball knew the match would be tough. A 6-5 loss left him shaken.
“My dad had to give me a hard pep talk,” Ball recalled. “He got into me pretty good about my legacy — the last time people would see me compete and what they would remember about how I picked myself up or stayed defeated.”
Ball then found inspiration in the stands.
“There was no giving up. Win or go home,” he said. “That is the moment it clicked.”
Reset mentally, Ball faced Caleb Brown of Monroe-Woodbury next.
“I knew if I could stop his offense and find the right angle for my attacks, I could get to my offense in the top position, where I feel I’m at my best,” he said.
The plan worked. Ball followed it again in his next match against Trey LeChase.
“I knew once I got the takedown and got my boots in on him, I had him,” he said.
The victory carried added significance.
“I was defeating the third seed and getting my 200th win in the same match,” Ball said.
He also drew motivation from a recent loss in his family.
“I had just lost my grandfather, Paul Ball, a few weeks earlier,” he said. “When I needed to dig deep, I looked up and Pop was there for me.”
Ball ultimately wrestled for fifth place but finished sixth after a 17-2 loss to Louden Elliot.
Still, he appreciated the opportunity to battle back.
“It was much better than losing twice and going home to end your high school career,” he said.
His father’s perspective also helped him accept the outcome.
“You make plans, and God laughs,” Ball said.
Before leaving the arena, Ball took a moment to soak everything in.
“I was so happy and emotional,” he said. “I looked around the arena and took it all in. I pointed to my family and all my supporters in the stands, then ran to my coaches and my dad to give everyone a hug.”
In the end, Ball said the experience reinforced an important lesson.
“I realize it is not all about winning,” he said. “It’s that feeling I get when I achieve something bigger than myself and hear the cheers from coaches, teammates and family who supported me along the way. Those are the lessons I’ll take with me as I head off to college, hopeful and excited about my future.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here