An annual tradition of the biggest wrestling tournament in southwest Kansas has been altered this year. The Rocky Welton Invitational has been operating in Garden City for sixty-eight straight years. The tournament has long been held at the high school, however this year it was decided that the tournament would be held at the newly opened Refinery on Cecil Dr.
“It was my decision,” Paul Lappin, girls wrestling coach, said. “With the recent explosion of girls wrestling we would have been exceeding capacity at the high school.”
Girls wrestling has been booming in popularity all across the country in recent times and Garden City is no exception.
“Doing it at the Refinery gives us much more room to operate,” Lappin said. “We can do more matches at once so we’re not there all night.”
Despite the tournament still being within Garden City, the change in scenery for the wrestlers may have caused the tournament to feel less like the Rocky Welton they knew.
“Being at the Refinery made it feel like it wasn’t a hometown meet,” Crystal Loera, health junior, said. “It did take off some of the pressure and made it feel more like a regular meet.”
Loera placed first among the girls at the tournament, winning all five of her matches. Not all of the wrestlers liked the lack of hometown feel however.
“It was nice having more room,” Zachary Long, trade senior, said. “It didn’t feel like it was ours though. Having it at the high school just felt like home and it was easier for my family to watch.”
Long finished third at the tournament, winning five of six matches. Long has been wrestling since his freshman year and has attended Rocky Welton four times now.
“I started off rough when I was a freshman,” Long said. “I only won a few times while my brother was one of the top players on the team. But I just kept working harder and practicing more and then I started getting better. My biggest struggle though was confidence. I had to do a lot of mental work and have a better mindset. But once I started doing that, I got a lot better.”
With Long closing off his high school wrestling career and Loera coming toward her final year, the Rocky Welton Invitational was a pivotal tournament for many of these young wrestlers.
