Lane Cluff ‘on a mission’ in third trip to state wrestling tournament
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Now a three-time state qualifier, Hillsboro senior Lane Cluff knows this is it for him as a wrestler for the Indians, and not only that, but he said he is on a mission to have the success he’s been working at for quite some time this weekend at the Division II State Wrestling Tournament.
Cluff has qualified and wrestled the past two seasons at the state tournament, but the outcome in terms of wins and losses hasn’t been to his liking. As he looks to gain his first win at state, Cluff said he knows this weekend is it, and he has the goal that every wrestler has, and that is to earn a spot on the podium.
[[In-content Ad]]
“There is a sense of accomplishment because not many people get to be up there (at state) three times, but at the same time the past two years I haven’t been able to do anything while I’m up there,” Cluff said. “With this being the last year, I have to go up there and try my best this year to get on the podium, win a couple matches and give it my best shot.
“It has kind of sank in that I’m a three-time state qualifier and this is my last time, but at the same time, I’m focused on what I have to get done this weekend as opposed to the fact it is almost over. This weekend is more important than it being over. I have to go out there and instead of trying to change the way I wrestle all year there. I need to wrestle like I have all year, go there with the confidence I’ve had all year and trust the process.”
The Hillsboro senior wrestles at the 285-pound or heavyweight weight class, and this past season he has 48 wins and just three losses. He also earned a Frontier Athletic Conference championship, a sectional championship and was a district runner-up last weekend. Cluff also earned his 150th career win during the semifinals of the district tournament.
Hillsboro wrestling coach Greg Rhoads spoke about how much Cluff has improved over the past year and that his improvement isn’t a small margin, but he’s a much better wrestler than the previous two seasons when he’s qualified for state.
“Lane is nine to 10 times better than he was last year, and when you walk into a tournament and kids are talking about heavyweights, that doesn’t happen often, but Lane is extremely athletic and he’s taken shots at doing things that most heavyweights don’t do at tournaments,” Rhoads said. “He’s really starting to wrestle like a smaller kid, and that’s been paying off.
“It helps, and it puts some other heavyweights in another gear they can’t go in. Any heavyweight can stand in the middle of the mat at push around weight, but you start throwing angles and speed on somebody, that weight has to go somewhere. That helps him in moving speed and using their weight against them.”
In gaining the aforementioned 150 wins, Cluff has worked hard at his craft, as year-to-year he’s changed parts of his wrestling technique to get to this point of the season for a third straight year.
“I’ve been lot better on my feet, moving around a lot more and not holding anything back in matches anymore,” Cluff said. “I feel like I’ve been a lot more aggressive on my feet and moving around a lot more, which has helped me. I’m more confident on my feet, and I feel now I can get takedowns better than what I have before, and it makes it a lot easier to be on your feet.
“I feel like I’m a lot better wrestler this year than what I was last year, and that is from what I’ve learned and the mentality I have this year. My footwork is better than what it was last year, and the ability to get to people’s legs better is part of that improvement. It takes a lot of practice, and it is a lot different from what I was learning my first two years.”
Adding to how he’s improved, Coach Rhoads explained how Cluff has had to break habits, which isn’t the easiest thing to do in wrestling.
“Lane has gotten a little bit more technical, and he’s buying into his shots and works through ties on his feet and he’s just kind of growing into his body,” Rhoads said. “Wrestling is a very primal sport, and you kind of lose yourself and you kind of go to instincts. If you are taught certain things and you aren’t put in those positions to begin with, it is very hard to break. You are wrestling and dog-tired with no strength, you revert to things you shouldn’t do. So you have to rewire somebody’s brain, and it takes a lot of time to change that.”
That practice has led Cluff to a season where he’s noticed how the change in his technique has led him to more success, and he’s done so with the help of his coaches.
“Those first two years, it was all upper-body, and last year we started the change in going to legs. This year, that has been the main focus, and it is something you have to work on (in practice) in the room,” Cluff said. “I work with Coach Rhoads and Coach (Nathan) Hey in improving, and it is a lot easier going out on the mat on Thursday and Saturdays and wrestling as opposed to wrestling them here because most of the people I wrestle at duals and tournaments don’t have the experience or strength those two have.”
Wrestling at state is something most wrestlers work their entire high school life for and are lucky to make it just once. In qualifying for state a third time, Cluff joins seven others at Hillsboro who have reached the state tournament three or more times. With a goal to make the podium, that would allow Cluff to gain another checkmark on his goals list, and that is to have a placer’s plaque in the wrestling room at Hillsboro.
“It would be nice to get a placer’s plaque like the others here. That is the one thing I want that I don’t have yet. I’m just going to have to go out and work hard this weekend for it,” Cluff said. “I’m not nervous this year. I feel like it is more of a mission to go up there this year. I want to get up there and not worry about it, cut loose because once it is over, it is over. There is no ‘I wish I would have’ or ‘I can fix this next year.’ It has been my mission all year, because Saturday it is all over.
“It is special to wrestle at state because it is a completely different feeling than any other matches you will wrestle because there are thousands of people there and you have earned your way there. It isn’t like every other tournament where everybody gets to enter. You have to beat good wrestlers to get there, and there will be a lot of good wrestlers there to wrestle.”
Cluff has qualified and wrestled the past two seasons at the state tournament, but the outcome in terms of wins and losses hasn’t been to his liking. As he looks to gain his first win at state, Cluff said he knows this weekend is it, and he has the goal that every wrestler has, and that is to earn a spot on the podium.
[[In-content Ad]]
“There is a sense of accomplishment because not many people get to be up there (at state) three times, but at the same time the past two years I haven’t been able to do anything while I’m up there,” Cluff said. “With this being the last year, I have to go up there and try my best this year to get on the podium, win a couple matches and give it my best shot.
“It has kind of sank in that I’m a three-time state qualifier and this is my last time, but at the same time, I’m focused on what I have to get done this weekend as opposed to the fact it is almost over. This weekend is more important than it being over. I have to go out there and instead of trying to change the way I wrestle all year there. I need to wrestle like I have all year, go there with the confidence I’ve had all year and trust the process.”
The Hillsboro senior wrestles at the 285-pound or heavyweight weight class, and this past season he has 48 wins and just three losses. He also earned a Frontier Athletic Conference championship, a sectional championship and was a district runner-up last weekend. Cluff also earned his 150th career win during the semifinals of the district tournament.
Hillsboro wrestling coach Greg Rhoads spoke about how much Cluff has improved over the past year and that his improvement isn’t a small margin, but he’s a much better wrestler than the previous two seasons when he’s qualified for state.
“Lane is nine to 10 times better than he was last year, and when you walk into a tournament and kids are talking about heavyweights, that doesn’t happen often, but Lane is extremely athletic and he’s taken shots at doing things that most heavyweights don’t do at tournaments,” Rhoads said. “He’s really starting to wrestle like a smaller kid, and that’s been paying off.
“It helps, and it puts some other heavyweights in another gear they can’t go in. Any heavyweight can stand in the middle of the mat at push around weight, but you start throwing angles and speed on somebody, that weight has to go somewhere. That helps him in moving speed and using their weight against them.”
In gaining the aforementioned 150 wins, Cluff has worked hard at his craft, as year-to-year he’s changed parts of his wrestling technique to get to this point of the season for a third straight year.
“I’ve been lot better on my feet, moving around a lot more and not holding anything back in matches anymore,” Cluff said. “I feel like I’ve been a lot more aggressive on my feet and moving around a lot more, which has helped me. I’m more confident on my feet, and I feel now I can get takedowns better than what I have before, and it makes it a lot easier to be on your feet.
“I feel like I’m a lot better wrestler this year than what I was last year, and that is from what I’ve learned and the mentality I have this year. My footwork is better than what it was last year, and the ability to get to people’s legs better is part of that improvement. It takes a lot of practice, and it is a lot different from what I was learning my first two years.”
Adding to how he’s improved, Coach Rhoads explained how Cluff has had to break habits, which isn’t the easiest thing to do in wrestling.
“Lane has gotten a little bit more technical, and he’s buying into his shots and works through ties on his feet and he’s just kind of growing into his body,” Rhoads said. “Wrestling is a very primal sport, and you kind of lose yourself and you kind of go to instincts. If you are taught certain things and you aren’t put in those positions to begin with, it is very hard to break. You are wrestling and dog-tired with no strength, you revert to things you shouldn’t do. So you have to rewire somebody’s brain, and it takes a lot of time to change that.”
That practice has led Cluff to a season where he’s noticed how the change in his technique has led him to more success, and he’s done so with the help of his coaches.
“Those first two years, it was all upper-body, and last year we started the change in going to legs. This year, that has been the main focus, and it is something you have to work on (in practice) in the room,” Cluff said. “I work with Coach Rhoads and Coach (Nathan) Hey in improving, and it is a lot easier going out on the mat on Thursday and Saturdays and wrestling as opposed to wrestling them here because most of the people I wrestle at duals and tournaments don’t have the experience or strength those two have.”
Wrestling at state is something most wrestlers work their entire high school life for and are lucky to make it just once. In qualifying for state a third time, Cluff joins seven others at Hillsboro who have reached the state tournament three or more times. With a goal to make the podium, that would allow Cluff to gain another checkmark on his goals list, and that is to have a placer’s plaque in the wrestling room at Hillsboro.
“It would be nice to get a placer’s plaque like the others here. That is the one thing I want that I don’t have yet. I’m just going to have to go out and work hard this weekend for it,” Cluff said. “I’m not nervous this year. I feel like it is more of a mission to go up there this year. I want to get up there and not worry about it, cut loose because once it is over, it is over. There is no ‘I wish I would have’ or ‘I can fix this next year.’ It has been my mission all year, because Saturday it is all over.
“It is special to wrestle at state because it is a completely different feeling than any other matches you will wrestle because there are thousands of people there and you have earned your way there. It isn’t like every other tournament where everybody gets to enter. You have to beat good wrestlers to get there, and there will be a lot of good wrestlers there to wrestle.”