By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor

Ryan Kocer’s story may be unique in high school wrestling.

            The Wagner (S.D.) High star accomplished just about everything a wrestler could accomplish through his junior year: three state titles, a berth in the Cadet National freestyle finals and NHSCA High School All-America status.

            This school year started innocently enough. After helping lead the Red Raiders football team to a 35-0 victory in its opening game, Kocer looked ahead to his team’s next game against Parkston High and a gridiron showdown against fellow three-time state champion Riley Reiff, who is headed to the University of Nebraska on a football scholarship.

            But in that final week of August, Kocer was involved in an accident on his family’s farm, where his parents, Don and Jody, raise corn, soybeans and cattle on about 1,000 acres. A runaway truck trapped his legs against a grain bin, crushing both of his legs. Doctors managed to save his right leg, but his left leg was amputated just below the knee.

            Additional dreams of gridiron glory were dashed, but Kocer was determined to return to the mat.

            Never missing a practice, Kocer spent the early part of the season building up his strength and conditioning, finally returning to live wrestling just after Christmas. He made his season debut at The Clash National Duals at Rochester, Minn., competed at 152 pounds — two weight classes below last year’s state championship weight of 171 — and posted a 3-1 record.

            “It wasn’t a matter if he would be back, it was a matter of what capacity would he be back,” Wagner coach Ernie Valentine told the Rochester Post-Bulletin. “Ryan is the kind of kid who when he says he’s going to do something, he’s going to do it. He told me from day one that he’d be back, so I knew he’d be back.”

            Though many wrestlers have overcome such handicaps to achieve success — such as Arizona State’s Anthony Robles, who won the NHSCA Senior Nationals, and Simpson College’s Nick Ackerman, who achieved the pinnacle of NCAA Division III success and shared the 2001 Hodge Trophy with Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson — Kocer has had to adjust from being a wrestler with two healthy legs to a wrestler with one in a matter of months.

            He said in this candid interview, there’s quite an adjustment process involved.

            WIN: The Clash was your first time back on the mat this season. Did you have any butterflies about it, being your first time out?

            Kocer: I was kind of nervous, getting out there and not really knowing what to expect. But the game didn’t change…so it wasn’t too bad.

            WIN: You went 3-1 in The Clash. Did you hope to do better than that?

            Kocer: Yeah, I’m not big on losing or anything. But I guess I’ve got to expect, with a whole new style going in, that every match is going to be a challenge.

            WIN: Have you had a chance to talk to anyone like Robles or Ackerman, who have had to endure the sorts of wrestling challenges that you’re facing now?

            Kocer: I’ve actually not talked to either of them in person, but I’ve heard and read about their stories and everything. So they’ve really been inspiring for me and helped me get back out there and do the best I can.

            WIN: Obviously, what those two have accomplished would give you some optimism that you might be able to accomplish some of the same things.

            Kocer: Definitely. It’s amazing what they’ve done at that level.

            WIN: What grade were you in when you started wrestling?

            Kocer: I’ve been wrestling since I was four years old, actually.

            WIN: So you wrestled for well over 10 years as a wrestler with a normal physique and now you have to completely adjust to be a wrestler with a different mind set. What kind of an adjustment have you had to make?

            Kocer: Basically, just to take the things I did before and figure out what will work. I’ve had to rethink everything; all my shots, levels, everything. It’s been a little difficult doing all that, rethinking moves and figuring out what works best for me.

            WIN: What style are you using off the whistle? Do you start standing or on a knee?

            Kocer: I usually just start on my foot and then drop down to a knee, pretty much right away. Wrestling on my feet really never was my strongest point, but I didn’t give up a whole lot of takedowns, either. I guess you could say I’m really not a technician on my feet. I’ve always been stronger on top and on the bottom than anything.

            WIN: That ought to work to your advantage in the way you approach matches now, doesn’t it?

            Kocer: Yeah, it definitely helps having that kind of knowledge and strength in that area of wrestling; being comfortable on top and on bottom.

            WIN: How did your accident take place?

            Kocer: The truck was going downhill already, and I was trying to stop it by pushing behind it, and then it hit a ditch and it was going too fast for me to get out of the way and it wound up pinning me against the bin.

            WIN: Did you know at the time that something was really wrong?

            Kocer: I guess it didn’t really hit me until, luckily, it recoiled back and I had time to get out of the way, before I got pinned there for too long. But once I stood up and my legs just fell back out from under me, I knew it was pretty serious.

            I broke my right leg, my right tibia. I crushed my left kneecap and it crushed an artery along (the kneecap). I had compartment syndrome in both legs — it’s where all the blood rushes to that area — and the arteries broke, so everything there swelled up.                   They had to slit both sides of my calves to relieve the swelling. I was in the hospital about two weeks.

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