It took setback to turn DesRoches into champ

It all started at Tri-State.

A year ago, Riverside’s Ryan DesRoches was a promising sophomore 160-pounder going into the prestigious North Idaho College tournament.

“I won my first two matches, then I got pinned two times in a row and went out,” DesRoches remembered, breaking down the memory the way he breaks down opponents.

It was the first of the two losses that turned DesRoches’ season around – to Great Northern League rival Ryan Burgess, a senior from Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls).

Burgess pulled off a throw – not something a seasoned wrestler should give up. It was embarrassing, to be blunt.

The sophomore went from being a good wrestler to a champion off that one loss.

“That match basically flipped a switch in how he wrestled and how he worked out,” Riverside coach Randy Miller said. “It was a slap in the face and he said to himself, ‘I’m not going to do it anymore. I’m a good wrestler. I’m not going to fall for that crap.’ He shifted gears.”

“That loss made me be mentally tougher in matches,” DesRoches said. “And it made me work just that much harder in practice every day. I focused on everything I wanted to accomplish and worked that much harder to get there.”

DesRoches stormed through the GNL season and, apart from a hiccup in the regional final, all the way to the State 2A title. He knocked off previously unbeaten Sloan Gutierrez of Port Townsend in the semifinals and scored a 7-2 decision over Castle Rock’s Kevin Ryan in the final.

“It’s carried over to this season,” DesRoches said. “I don’t want anything like that to happen again. I train just that much harder to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

DesRoches entered this season’s Tri-State as one of three defending state champions in the 160-pound field. He pinned State 4A veteran T.J. Lochmann of Monroe in the quarterfinals, scored a 13-7 decision over defending State 4A 145-pound champion Trevor Hall of Battle Ground in the semifinals and bested two-time State 3A champion Michael Lomsdalen of Sedro Woolley in the final, 3-0.

“That opened a lot of people’s eyes,” Miller said. “It was kind of neat. I wrestle with the kid every day and I know what he’s capable of. A lot of people didn’t believe in him. They do now.”

DesRoches earned votes for wrestler of the tournament – and not earning that honor dismayed more than a few tournament onlookers, including his coach.

“I got a number of calls and e-mails from people about that,” Miller said. “I thought he had a good shot at it. His road to the finals was much more substantial. Some of the other kids that did well were expected to do well.

“He’s a pretty humble kid. I think there were more people complaining about it than he complained about it.”

DesRoches is undefeated in his 20 matches, with 11 pins. His brother Jacob, a sophomore at 152, is 11-5.

“Next year I’m going to have four DesRoches in my lineup,” Miller predicted. “Before they’re through, we’ll have had seven of them come through the program.”