TACOMA — The struggle is real on two fronts this year for Port Angeles wrestler Tyler Gale.
Gale, a junior who will wrestle in his third straight Mat Classic for the Roughriders starting today at the Tacoma Dome, is in a unique position.
He’s one of just four upperclassmen, all juniors, in the 16-man 106-pound bracket.
That’s good for Gale, who placed fifth as a freshman and fourth last year as a sophomore.
“I feel I’ll have the advantage,” Gale said.
“I’m older. I’m bigger than most of them and I’ll have more experience having been to the Dome before.”
Gale has been in and out of the 106-pound class this year, competing in some tournaments up a level at 113 pounds.
“There are a lot of forfeits at the [106] weight class,” Port Angeles coach Erik Gonzalez said.
“So our decision there to have him wrestle up at 113 was to try to get him the stiffest competition that we could.”
Bouncing back down from 113 pounds to 106 was always the plan, according to Gale.
That extra cushion also helped him enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas meals — to an extent, anyway.
“The worst is the holidays,” Gale said.
“I can eat, but after Christmas and in January I have to really watch what I’m taking in.”
Going up a class does provide confidence.
“It gives me the drive to know I can push through anything,” he said.
What’s been even tougher for Gale is a persistent ankle injury he’s dealt with since a bit of friendly fire at the Gut Check Challenge in January.
“I was through to the semifinals and we were warming up when Roberto [Coronel, the team’s heavyweight wrestler] fell on me,” Gale said.
This caused complications for Gale, one of the biggest being his attempt to maintain his low weight.
The 106-pound division is the smallest for high school wrestlers, and battling the nagging injury has been trying.
“Everyday in practice it’s a grind, and with my ankle hurt for the last month now, it’s just been hard,” Gale said.
“There’s been pain every day and every time I’ve wrestled. I’ve had to push through it.”
Some days that discomfort has caused him to sit out practice, adding to the worry over his weight.
“That makes it harder, because the best way to lose weight is being out on the mat and wrestling,” Gale said.
“There’s nothing that can substitute.”
For motivation, Gale has looked to 2012 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs.
Burroughs won the 2013 World Championship just weeks after breaking and then undergoing surgery on his ankle.
Doctors told Burroughs his recovery would take six-to eight-weeks.
“He won the world championship with pins in his ankle, so I’ve used him as my inspiration,” Gale said.
“If he can come back from a broken ankle and win the championship in a month, I can compete and win, too.”
That’s Gale’s personal goal for this Mat Classic, having his own first-place medal slipped around his neck.
“First,” Gale said immediately when asked where he’s looking to place at state.
“Top of the podium.”
Gonzalez believes Gale is capable of a championship.
“Absolutely,” Gonzalez said.
“He’s been with me since he was one of these little guys, [referring to the Olympic Mountain youth wrestling practice set to begin].
“It’s so hard to say where he’s grown, but I would say his confidence and his ability to get up off the bottom.”
There’s no doubt Gale will enjoy Saturday evening after the medal presentations.
He can drop his discipline a bit and seriously savor a meal.
“Oh yeah,” Gale said enthusiastically.
“I’ll probably shoot right up and gain 10 pounds.”
If the state matches go his way, a hard-earned Mat Classic medal will be part of that new-found weight gain.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsualdailynews.com.
