Nothing could stop Ignacio High School’s Lincoln deKay from winning the 2A state championship in boys wrestling last month in front of his friends and family.
Crashes on Wolf Creek Pass couldn’t stop one of the more decorated wrestling families in the state from missing deKay wrestle in Ball Area. An elbow injury that put deKay out of competition for a few weeks in the middle of the season couldn’t stop him from coming back for his last chance at a state title. In fact, the injury couldn’t even keep him off the mat for practice during that time as he wrapped his arm to his body to protect it, and he practiced with one arm.
Lastly, none of the wrestlers in the 2A 165-pound bracket could stop deKay from winning his first state title and Ignacio’s first state title since 2011. He outscored his opponents 55-3 from Feb. 19-21 to achieve his lifelong dream and join the club.
“It’s weird to think about,” deKay said. “Even though it was only a few weeks ago, it kind of feels like it didn’t happen. It’s hard to recall how that felt now. I forget sometimes because it was my goal for so long. It just doesn’t feel real.”
What club did deKay join? Well, other than the club of state champions, he joined the club of his family members who have won wrestling state championships. His dad, Chris, won the Class A state championship for Ignacio at 119 pounds in 1987. Chris then won the Class A state championship at 126 in 1988 with a 27-0 record. DeKay’s uncle, Ray, won the 1987 Class A state championship at 126. DeKay’s uncle, Dennis, won a state title in Nebraska in 2003 at 215 pounds.
Most recently, deKay’s brother and Ignacio’s head coach, Jordan Larsen, won the 3A state championship in 2008 at 152 pounds at Bayfield.
Despite a rich wrestling pedigree in his family, deKay wasn’t the best athlete, despite playing basketball, cross country and track and field in addition to wrestling growing up.
“I was not a very athletic young man, and I probably won four matches in my pee-wee career,” deKay said. “My uncle Dennis, mainly because he was young, he would always tease me and say, ‘Come on buddy, you better figure things out or you won’t make the club.’”
DeKay had a slow start to his wrestling career in the wins and losses categories, but he didn’t fell much pressure from his dad. All his dad wanted him to do was try his hardest. Eventually, deKay figured out what trying his hardest looked like and the winning showed up.
In pee-wee wrestling, deKay wouldn’t be the aggressor; he’d wait for a win to fall into his lap. It wasn’t until eighth grade when he started becoming the aggressor by changing his mentality. deKay had already started working out every day starting in sixth grade. He didn’t want all the strength and all the time he’d put in the weight room go to waste. Losing made him angrier than before.
“It changed pretty quick to going and taking the takedowns, not letting them have a single point,” deKay said. “That’s what I went into every match, thinking, ‘I’m not going to let them score a single point, I’m going to get a bunch of takedowns and bag points in the first period.’”
DeKay immediately found success in high school with his changed mentality. He finished fourth as a freshman at regionals at 138, qualifying him for state. DeKay also finished second at the Norwood Maverick Tournament.
Feeling good after a solid freshman season, deKay went to a Pagosa Springs wrestling camp thinking he was pretty tough. But after being pinned six consecutive times in the first period, deKay was sick of losing and realized he needed to lock in his mentality even more.
After that, it was a sophomore surge for deKay, winning four tournaments, including regionals at 150. He finished fourth at state. deKay continued to win as a junior, winning regionals again, this time at 165, and finishing runner-up at state.
His improvement wasn’t his own doing. deKay had a lot of tight relationships with his coaches and his teammates. deKay has been wrestling with his classmates Aven Bourriague, Zane Pontine and Joshua Kerrigan and Dillion Brann since they were in pee-wees. It’s always been a competitive environment, helping each wrestler improve.
DeKay’s usual sparring partner during practice was Pontine, who wrestled at 157.
“Zane is really competitive; he doesn’t like to lose,” deKay said. “So he’ll learn my style and how I wrestle, the shots I take, when I take them, how I set him up, and his defense against me just gets better. I find new ways to take him down every practice. That definitely helps out a lot, because you can’t just use the same moves all the time.”
deKay started his senior season as one of the favorites to win state at 165. He dominated, winning every regular-season tournament he competed in, except for the Warrior Classic. He won his third consecutive regional title.
It was a super successful season for the Ignacio program as a whole. Bourriague dominated throughout the regular season and won regionals as a senior. Pontine and Kerrigan both finished second in their final regional appearances.
“With all those boys … being seniors. There’s a little bit of, ‘Hey, this is probably the end of the line, right there,” Larsen said. “One or two of them might maybe go wrestle somewhere in college or something like that. But, in general … especially this year, led to some things like not missing any optional practices … It was the culmination of a lot of buy-in for a lot of years from a large group of those kids.”
There wasn’t triumph without adversity for deKay with his elbow injury. He pulled part of a ligament off the bone and his elbow. It was the first major injury deKay had, but he used the time he practiced with one arm to become a better positional wrestler. He had to develop a single leg high crotch takedown instead of his fireman from his right side, which hurt due to the injury.
DeKay wasn’t 100% going into state. If he used his right arm normally in matches, it hurt pretty bad. He tried to not use his right arm until the finals, when the nerves really built up. But he used his right arm in the finals since it was his last chance to win a state title, and it paid off with a dominant 17-0 tech fall victory.
The Ignacio senior raised his hand victoriously and got a big hug from Larsen.
“Outside of me being in that situation when I was in school, it was just a super special moment … where he essentially dominated his way through the state tournament,” Larsen said. “That was a super special feeling and one that I’ll never forget. It was pretty cool. It makes you hungry for more feelings like that, though, I’ll tell you that much.”
What’s next for deKay is undetermined. He wants to compete in college and study engineering. He’s still considering whether to play college football, track and field. But after his state title, Division II college wrestling coaches started reaching out.
Regardless of where deKay ends up in college, he’s made an impact on Ignacio wrestling that’ll be remembered forever, joining his family on the wall of champions. Larsen knows deKay has the chance to make even more of an impact in the next five to 10 years by giving back to the program.
“I want people to remember me for working through little bumps and bruises,” deKay said. “A lot of kids in Ignacio right now, something small will happen, they twist their ankle and they’ll sit in the trainer for months and lose a season … You only get four years … I really want to promote that; being a competitor and getting into practice … you can make so much ground in one season.”
Reader Comments