NCAA Recap & A Missed Opportunity: Steph Rice Joins Us

Chris and Tim are back with another NCAA Nationals Special Edition — starting with a quick recap of the Minnesota high school grads, Gophers, and NDSU wrestlers they’re following in Cleveland.

Then things get special.
 Tim’s daughter, Steph Rice, joins the show to share a perspective we don’t hear often enough. A three‑sport high school athlete who would have wrestled in a heartbeat if girls wrestling had existed back then, Steph talks about what the sport meant to her, what she missed out on, and what it’s like watching today’s generation finally get the opportunities she never had.

It’s heartfelt, honest, and the perfect addition to our NCAA coverage.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:01

Welcome back to a special Mat Side Minnesota Extra, a college edition. I'm Chris Etzler, joined by my longtime wrestling travel buddy, Tim Rice. For 16 years we've hit the road for the Division I Championship. But this year we're watching all six sessions from the basement. Or what we're gonna call Studio B. We'll share stories from the past tournaments, break down the action in Cleveland, and bring you our take on the matches, moments, and madness from the national stage. Let's go, Matt Side. Okay, well, we're back um at Studio B. Um again is the basement with uh my college co-host Tim. Um so we wanted to, we when if you watched our our first uh kind of episode on a couple days ago, kind of uh um just uh diving into a little bit of some a different approach to the the NCAA tournament. Um we said we might try to come back. Um it's kind of hard to do this uh just in in you know on a regular basis um as we want to watch the wrestling and uh also maybe get something to eat and all that kind of stuff too. So we're just kind of doing a midway update. All there's what we're done with three of the six sessions. Right. Three rounds. Three rounds. Um so we just thought, you know what, we we we threw out some names of some gopher and bison and Minnesota wrestlers um the other night. We just kind of wanted to give a little update as to where they are. And then also we're just gonna bring on uh um uh a special guest for a short little discussion. And and so we're gonna kind of keep it short and sweet. But uh we we said we were gonna come back to you, so we are.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

Well, and we have seen some fantastic wrestling. Uh and we've seen a lot of what is it, 27 and 2 to 5 seeds.

SPEAKER_04 1:50

Yeah, the 27 and six seeds seem to be the magic number yesterday. I I I think the in the end, most of those six seeds won their matches. Right. But I think every one of them were overtime or uh by a point or two.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

Yeah, it was so many um uh great matches and you just didn't know it till the very end.

SPEAKER_04 2:09

Yeah. Uh and just throughout the whole thing. And i if you haven't had an opportunity uh to sit down and watch all the matches yet, uh hopefully you can, you know, the blood round will uh start this evening. And you know, depending on when you watch this and all this, hopefully we can get it out to you and you get to see it before that actually starts. But right, I strongly suggest that seven o'clock um start time on Friday evening here. So um yeah, it's been there's been some just some doozies, some I mean it and it always is. It it's right, you know, listening to Shane Sparks, uh and I think it was I don't know who he had on with him that time. Maybe it was Wyatt Hendrickson or and they were talking about uh one of them made made the comment about oh, this is just unbelievable. And and and Shane's like, you know what? I can't say that anymore. I can't say any of this is unbelievable because it is believable. These guys just every match is just crazy. And it's that you just it you can't really say that because the next one is even more unbelievable. So what he's saying is in the end, it's this is all just believable that these matches are this tight, this close, right, this good. Yeah, and I'm trying to bring you a little Shane Sparks energy. You know, I'm just um and he has a lot of it. How he can sit here and babble all day has been beyond me like that. And I babble, it's just yelling, and it's it's it's awesome. It's fun, it's fun to listen to. So anyway, let's get going here. We want to, I think what we'll do is, you know, again, we we we said the other night that uh we had some gopher, we wanted to follow the gopher wrestlers, which there were six of them, uh the NDSU wrestlers, which there were five, and then there were 11 wrestlers uh that graduated from a Minnesota high school that were that were competing in the tournament. So those were some that we were really keeping um tabs on, you know, beyond our kind of fantasy leagues that we are both involved in. Um that we're not gonna get into that. But um But I am ahead of you right now. Uh okay, all right, all right. Maybe I could give those give those results um Mike. Uh you know, he's up six yeah, whatever. But um so I think what? We'll start with the Golf uh NDSU.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

NDSU, which um they they really wrestle well, but uh a lot of tough competition, but none of them are in it uh at this point. Yeah, they well, but how many are left of uh I mean two-thirds are already out. Well, yeah, of the tournament.

SPEAKER_04 4:34

Right. But yeah, it kind of you know a tough, a tough few days for for the bison wrestlers. Again, there were five of them, um Ezekiel Witt at 125, Max Peterson at 149, Gavin Drexler at 157, Aiden Bernal at 184, and Devin Wasley at 197. And uh, you know, unfortunately, all of them uh are no longer in the tournament. And you know, just to kind of you know you know, throw out that would end the scoring for the bison. Correct. So they scored only six points. Uh hopefully, you know, they can improve on all these guys, uh all these guys still have, you know, none of them are are uh yeah, there's yeah, they're all under underclassmen. A redshirt freshman, junior, junior, a sophomore, and a junior.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

And it doesn't mean they didn't look competitive wrestling either. I mean No. So they may not be in it, but they definitely represented their school well. So that was the bison. And maybe you got a little maybe do you have some notes on where we're at with the Gopher Wrestlers? Well, on the Gopher Wrestlers, we have four of six still in the tournament. We have McConnelly in the semis, and uh Folk, Fombar, and Sparks are in the blood round. So that'll be an important round for them tonight. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:49

And if if you're kind of maybe you know new to this, if I'm thinking most of our audience isn't new to this, but the blood round is the round that um it's it's if you win, you podium. And a podium is top eight. Correct. And that is then all American status. So to earn your all American status, you have to finish in the top eight. And uh so the the blood round is in the consolation round that um if you if you lose you go home. Right.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

And there's only what, eight of those left? And so just four of them are gonna get through that.

SPEAKER_04 6:24

Yeah. So it that that's it's it's probably one of the most intense rounds of the tournament. Um they're so close. Yeah, they're very you know, they're all competing. This is their last shot, especially when you see, you know, seniors and you know, it's their last shot to get there. So they're they're some of the most intense competitive. It's this is where I miss being probably my favorite round not being in the arena. Uh the energy in the arena is just during this round. Oh, it's just I don't know. I it just you can't describe it. You gotta be there.

SPEAKER_03 6:57

Well, you even said that uh in prior discussions. Uh the blood round and the semis can be even more exciting than the finals. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:07

Yeah. 100 percent. This Friday night, you know, because we'll have that blood round and then we'll we'll get into the to the semis. And the Friday night round, in my opinion, is the the the most exciting. I mean, the finals, of course, that's what the big stage is all set up, and that's pretty cool. But um the this Friday night, if you if you ever if if you get the opportunity to go to one of these, and then your that opportunity is only one session. Session four. Right. That's the session. If you can if you and I would say that you know that's the toughest ticket to get, is really truly session. Well, and there are a lot of people that want to be there for the finals as well. But so in in 28, when it's at US Bank, and you can only make one session, session four, right? That's the one I'm gonna suggest.

SPEAKER_03 7:56

Um so we still have um some other Minnesota wrestlers still wrestling.

SPEAKER_04 8:03

Yeah, yep. The the the high school wrestlers. I think we have how many of those? Uh where's my notes go? God dang it, tried to be organized.

SPEAKER_03 8:10

Well, we have um well, of course we have uh Mackinelli, but there's still uh Landon Roboto, Patrick Kennedy, and Novak. Uh what's his first name?

SPEAKER_04 8:25

Uh the Novak is uh Joey.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

Joey. Yeah, Joey Novak. So they're in the semis, uh, but every one of those three have the number one seed, all from Penn State. So they all have a real challenge for them tonight. Which you never know.

SPEAKER_04 8:43

No, no. And one of the things I'm going to do, I I said this as we were just getting started. So I'm going to do it when this is done. I'm out of curiosity, I'm going to create check the team score of those 11 Minnesota wrestlers and see how they fit you know in the whole thing. Speaking of team scores, one thing I just throw out with the Gopher wrestlers, which as Gopher fans, I think we would like to see this. But right now the Gophers are in 13th place with 21 team points, which um I don't know. And I'm that's maybe I'm gonna leave it at that.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

Well we've well what year did they win at all?

SPEAKER_04 9:22

That was in the Well, there was the two years back in 07. Right.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

One uh Yeah. But we sure have seen them up higher than that in the past years. So but yeah, I think we always want to have our our local team to be as high as possible. And yeah. And uh so but that is where they're at right now.

SPEAKER_04 9:46

It is, it's where the program's at. I just you know, I think for for years that expectation, I think, you know, for a long time it was you know, top five. Well I mean all those years of uh Jay uh Well we would go down to the national tournament afterwards.

SPEAKER_03 10:02

Uh there were these uh events where you could meet the coaches and uh the uh uh wrestlers. And uh Jay Robinson when he spoke, I mean it didn't matter where he placed, his goal was to win it. Yeah. You know, I mean that's been the Minnesota goal is we're going to win it. And that's you sure saw that in the program of what they're trying to do.

SPEAKER_04 10:24

Yeah. So I I think a lot of us that you know with a 13, then really I don't know, you know, there there's not a whole more not a whole lot of points to gain. No. So with four going, three of them in the Conci. So Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

Yeah, so I think altogether for Minnesota wrestlers, though, if you count the other two from for Minnesota, so we have what I think it looks like just five left from Minnesota that are still are wrestling.

SPEAKER_04 10:51

Yeah. Which is you know, I think that's still it it's it's fun to try to you know follow those guys and and uh cheer for them as well. So but then you also brought up about some undefeated wrestlers. Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah, the undefeated wrestlers, you know, there were uh there were fifteen of them uh that started the tournament. Um and uh it looks like what eleven of them um still are undefeated. Um you know, there was uh Sheldon Seymour from Lehigh, he lost to uh Troy Sprattley from Oklahoma State. That was his first loss on the season. Uh Simon Ruiz from Cornell um lost to the 15 seed uh this Wask from Navy. Right. And then uh Rocky Elam, who was the number two seed at 1907 pounds. Several of us had Rocky on our fantasy. Um he's out of the tournament. He came in the number two seed unbeaten. Right. He lost to the 15 and 16 seeds.

SPEAKER_03 11:53

And we noticed both of them were Big Ten wrestlers, uh that he lost to. And then we do have uh two at 141, two undefeated wrestlers meeting in the semis.

SPEAKER_04 12:05

Yeah. Yeah. Luke Stanick and uh and uh uh Jesse Mendez. So two undefeated uh wrestlers there. So actually it's 12. I saw it my notes because I had that. So there's there's three that are no longer undefeated. Um so it's kind of a kind of a fun stat just to kind of watch it. You know, I obviously, you know, we're there we we try to watch our gopher wrestlers and there's certain ones, but sometimes it's kind of fun to kind of find those things. What are we watching for? Right. Yeah um and and you know, it's a lot of matches. What we come up with the other 640 of them. So sometimes you um to to uh try to keep track of it. But we've not missed one yet. No, no, no. We've watched them all. Nope. And what you're seeing behind us, that's just a freeze frame of of the of the Matcast, ESPN's Matcast. So um And then there's one other thing we mentioned the other night, and that was Iowa's 35 consecutive years of having a semifinalist. Because there's been a little discussion, yeah, are they gonna keep that streak going this year? And uh that's gonna be right now, it's riding on two guys. Right. Yep. Um are having a finalist. Right. Um not a semifinalist, a finalist. A finalist. Yeah. Um so two guys, uh what uh Patrick Kennedy, a Minnesota boy, and then um and uh Mikey Callion. Caliendo.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

Yep. So so and um so and who does um Patrick Kennedy has the number one seed, Haynes, so that'll be a tough one. And then um Calliando has is it uh Joey Blaze? Oh, sure. So but that's what a two and three seed? I think so, yeah, it'd be two threes. Yep. So so anyway, yeah, one one of them, one of them needs to come through. Yep, yep. To keep that streak going for Iowa. Right. So so again, like you mentioned, that's something we're sure watching to see about that streak. But there are so many things to watch and look at, but we kind of do all of them. Yep. So I think we're proving we can multitask if we can watch eight matches all at the same time, plus track everything else.

SPEAKER_04 14:12

So yeah, yeah. No, it's fun. And it I'm not taking as much as you know, we talk about going back and kind of excited about going to St. Louis next year. Um, this has been fun too. We've had all kinds of people popping in and spending some time with us and some fun stories being shared and um well and you and into different theories and thoughts about wrestling and yeah, some really good discussions about different aspects of wrestling.

SPEAKER_03 14:38

So there's a lot to it that by getting together and watching it that you can have those kind of dialogues. Yep. Yeah. So well, um so the one tonight will be fun.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

Oh, I'm absolutely looking forward toward to tonight. Yes, absolutely. No, the other night um Tim Um he he brought up, you know, is talked about his boys' wrestling, and uh his daughter Steph um uh kind of uh brought up the fact that she would, you know, when because what she graduated early mid-90s, right? Right, yeah. Um, you know, and that she would have enjoyed wrestling. And what so Tim started chatting with her, she watched that episode, and and so anyway, we said, well, why don't you come on and tell us what uh what are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_02 15:29

What are your thoughts at?

SPEAKER_04 15:30

So we're gonna um we're gonna bring Steph on. I'm gonna take a quick break, give her give her a call here, and then we'll uh we'll have Steph on. Be right back.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

How are you doing, Chris?

SPEAKER_04 15:42

I'm good. I'm good, I'm good, Steph. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Good to see you. I'm good. It was good to see you at the state tournament.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

Yeah. That was fun.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

That was fun.

SPEAKER_03 15:52

Always fun. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

I know.

SPEAKER_03 15:54

It was a great great time down there.

SPEAKER_04 15:58

So so I I I gotta ask you. So do you have what's uh what do you got beeping?

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Oh, it's my seatbelt. Maybe I should put that on.

SPEAKER_03 16:09

I think so.

SPEAKER_04 16:12

Dad's watching out for you. Get that seatbelt on. I know. I love it. Um so when when uh when Tim mentioned uh uh what would be your weight class the other night, did you uh Oh my gosh, guys?

SPEAKER_01 16:28

I just texted on like 190? Really? 190. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

Well, yeah, because I said the boys were at 171 or 189.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Oh no, like six three and six. I'm barely hitting five tons. Yeah, so I'm wearing one ninety.

SPEAKER_03 16:49

Yeah, well that's their cut weight. There's their cut weight, but what are the two wrestling weights around that?

SPEAKER_04 16:56

190 and then it would be well, then the next weight down in girls would be 170.

SPEAKER_03 17:03

Yeah, I think it's one seventy. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

That would make more sense of where I was at, nice.

SPEAKER_03 17:08

Right. Probably. Yeah. But I was talking to some of the other guys that were here today, and they said that that 175-190 would be uh a fun weight class to wrestle. They just said that based on what they're seeing now, he said uh it's a lot of fun. And and uh there are other people that knew you from the past, and they said, Oh, uh staff would do well up at that weight. But so I remember when you went out for uh well, I know you talked about going out for golf. And you may I don't know if you remember this or not, but you said I'm not sure if I want to do golf because there's there's not any blood. It's not any food.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

Yeah, too slow. No contact.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

I know.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

So no contact, too slow.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

Yeah, um, can't you know can't basically throw down per se. But yeah, it was unfortunate. Uh, you know, I would say growing, you know, I mean I was fortunate in many ways being able to just play sports, you know, compared to like my mom, for instance, who didn't have as many options as I did per se, but uh it would have been a lot of fun to be able to wrestle. And I mean I did a little bit dad, but I kept getting kicked out. Um remember the boys kept saying I was hurting them or you know, and I I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_03 18:24

I know that happened to you in basketball too. Maybe you well, maybe you could share what are the different sports you did in high school, though. You did you're you did three.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

I did yeah, well, I mean, the most competitive was volleyball basketball. Um, and then I did shop putting discus.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Um I yeah, and I went in between like softball and then skipped over to do track with the peaches, obviously with Ron. Because he was my basketball coach too, so yeah. So convinced me to no longer be in softball and go throw a shop put and discuss. So I did that instead.

SPEAKER_03 19:01

Sure. So um you know, during your time too, uh one of the things that we talked about on this wrestling team as far as state is how many of them um they've been together so long. And I know what year did Ron Beachy take the girls' team to state? I'm trying to think, what was it, 2000 or 99? But but um it was interesting your classmates, you were together since you were little. I mean, there was like ten of you that were together that whole time.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

I don't know where we came up with the dragons. Yeah, uh we traveled down in you know, down here in the cities and got to do the just more competitive uh basketball, and then basically every single one of us, and then we went to state, I think it was my junior year.

SPEAKER_03 20:01

Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Maybe, yeah. And uh I mean we didn't we I think we lost to Lichfield or New London Spices.

SPEAKER_03 20:09

Oh, it was uh New London Spices. But it is interesting is how you guys stuck it out that whole time. You know, yes, we did, and I think that made a difference. And we were talking about that compared to uh the staples wrestling team.

SPEAKER_04 20:23

Yeah, because that bunch of seniors there, you know, the the there are six seniors that just graduated or will be graduating off this year's wrestling team. And you know, they often many times throughout the season, we had different the those different seniors on um the podcast, and and we always asked that question about you know, why is this team so successful? And and they talked about because we've been wrestling together as a group since we were in kindergarten. Yep. And so that that it's it's interesting, you know, and uh it how that works when you know your girls, your team being your basketball team being successful because you were all together.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Yeah, well, you know, they always say uh you typically will show up for someone else before you show up for yourself. So you never wanted to let anybody else down. And that's typically when you when you're you know, obviously best friends and uh in a small town like we grew up in, uh you were gonna do everything to make sure you didn't let anybody down on your team. And we didn't let each other do that either. And it was a pretty positive environment, even for you know, 15 girls. We actually were pretty positive and not not mean to each other. So and very inviting too to those that wanted to be a part of the team. So it was a good, it was a good uh uh group of people. And uh, you know, Tim Miller definitely uh I was just the way that he did coach. Uh there was no room for uh any whining or uh pouting or like feeling free for yourself. It was figure it out instantly. And so he he really got us to. To be big and bold, I would say. Very young, at a very young age, which was good.

SPEAKER_03 22:05

And I know you really enjoyed um with Ron Beachy too.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Yes as a coach.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

So I mean you had some really good coaches that really helped make a difference.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

Yep. Yes, we did. Yeah, old Beach uh rest in peace, sir. Uh, but he he definitely brought a passion too and uh almost uh for basketball. And I know we're supposed to be on a wrestling podcast, but for the basketball realm is his but it's his overall uh understanding of sports and just how you had to be so articulate with very specific things to be at the top of your game.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:43

And you can't miss that beat, and you have to acknowledge when you did and then fix it and learn. And so he it's just he was a fascinating uh coach in in every sport. He just he could have capitalized and he could have taught any sport. I think he did. He coached just about every sport in high school. But he definitely could have.

SPEAKER_04 23:05

And that and you know, I think that could be said for a lot of high-level good coaches is they they're it's not always the X's and O's that that's that's made them successful. It's it's the the philosophy behind coaching and how they approach that, and that's and Ron was certainly one of those.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Yeah, and the confidence he built in us too, yeah, and to not be fearful or scared and um confident in a non-coggy way, per se. Um, but just believing in yourself in that way too. But he did, he believed in in everybody that he coached. Sure. And if he didn't, he would tell you. He would tell you what you needed to fix to be a part of that team.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

So if you wrestle today and you're gonna wrestle your two brothers, who would you wrestle? Matt or Chris.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Um Matt would be a little too easy. Chris and I would wrestle for quite some time. That would have that would have far more uh because Chris and I like to grapple though. Matt would be more of a kind of what he did to Chris at the at the Square Gardens is picking him up and just you know, body slamming him. Uh, you know, that's what Chris does, or that's what Matt does, but Chris is a grappler. And I mean, I I got into jujitsu uh quite a bit uh in my in my older adult years after college. And I really do enjoy groundfighting. And so Chris, yes, obviously is a wrestler, but I I mean him and I even as adults have uh grappled and groundfighted together. So him and I would just probably go at it for far. It it depends if I would just want to, you know, put Matt in a chokehold in two minutes and two seconds and choke him out. Uh Chris would be a lot harder.

SPEAKER_03 24:49

Yeah, I think you might have enjoyed wrestling. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

Yes, uh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 24:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

I would have. Yeah, it's uh I I think it's great that girls are able to do that today and get that opportunity. Obviously, it's gonna continue to grow. It's not nearly where the uh the boys uh level is at, but I still think it's great that that opportunity is there.

SPEAKER_04 25:09

Uh but it it's what has been really cool is I've really followed it pretty closely now the last you know two years. And I remember the beginning of last season, so you know, a year and a half ago, um kind of one of my side gigs here every now and then as I drive school bus, especially like wrestling teams and baseball teams. Yeah, and I had taken the girls' wrestling team over to Brainerd. And I I watched it was a gym full of girls, all just girls. And that was my first it was early, we're very early season. And I was like, wow, you know, this is cool, but there's a lot to learn. So in two full seasons now, how much the it's it it is a compl uh unbelievable how they've picked it up. And you know, a lot of because you know, bottom line is a lot of these girls from many schools talking to a lot of these coaches, they're just coming out. This is their first. You know, some of them have had the brothers to to roll around with and that, but some of them this is absolutely their first. You know, they're teaching them the very basics of the sport. And so it's it's it's interesting, it's fun to see it come.

SPEAKER_03 26:23

And yeah, to see how fast they're picking it up.

SPEAKER_04 26:25

Oh it's crazy. And I think, you know, um Leah Greenwalt, when we had her on, she made that comment just herself. How she has seen that the the change. Yeah, she said the word the technique has so improved. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:39

Right.

SPEAKER_04 26:39

So it it's it's fun to to see. And you know, it it is. It would have been fun. You know, it I I try to think back when you know I was in high school and maybe even just all the way through my years as officiating stuff if there would have been the girls' uh sport like it is now, and you know, how things would be different um you know, all around. Yep. I mean, we would you know, it sounds like you probably would have been a wrestler. So, you know, that also means you weren't on that basketball team. Right.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

Um Yeah, that would have been fine with me.

SPEAKER_04 27:16

But yeah, you know, it's just there's a lot of changes. And that's I think you know, a little bit, you know, I I look at Staples Motley here, you know, um, is you know, now you have the the girls, the girls side is are they taking some of those girls? I I don't know. I I know talking to a couple of the coaches, um, they said no. They they're they've they've pulled, you know, they're girls that that they didn't they weren't comfortable playing basketball, but they want to wrestle.

SPEAKER_03 27:43

Well, it's just giving more options for for uh uh students and girls in the class to give them other options. Yeah. So um so Stephanie. Well, and go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

Well, just and wrestling too, though, is a contact sport. I mean, you really can't even uh well, you know, there's the physic the techniques and the physicality to it, but um, you know, I would say there was many girls that I was in high school with that did, you know, they wouldn't have been able to handle that type of contact.

SPEAKER_02 28:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

And so uh it's just, you know, that's something that again, I think to what Chris is saying is it would change, I think, a lot if girls would have been able to kind of even learn because you're almost in like a self-defense mode too, or you just you're you're learning just different techniques and strengths that you wouldn't even know that you had. And that's something that wrestling uh gets it, it what it shows you that once you start learning.

SPEAKER_04 28:38

Yes. And you know, it's just again another opportunity, you know, the the other side of wrestling that a lot of people, you know, the the commitment that wrestling requires. Um, you know, there's just a different um mindset to be a wrestler. And you know, I think there's a there's a whole level of learning that goes along with that. That um, you know, now like like Tim, what you're saying, as far as giving that opportunity for for more girls to find who they are through wrestling and and hopefully you know becoming better people, you know, because of that. So um that's what that's what I think is just really neat about, you know, it's still I say this and I don't mean this in a you know, it's just still kind of almost strange to me sometimes. And when I I think I commented to you, Tim, when we were in St. Michael, I went down to the concession stand and I'm standing in line. You know, there was like five, six girls behind me, and five, six girls behind me in front of me that were all wearing singlets and carrying their headgear. Uh huh. You know, just it it's still just a little bit, you know, getting used to that, but it it it's I'm I'm all I'm a hundred percent supportive. I just I I think it's so awesome. It's fun to see as an official some young women getting involved from that side. Right. There's there's a young gal, I I I'm I'm just forgetting her name right now. She's out of the Long Prairie area. This was her first season officiating. She never wrestled. Yep. She never wrestled, but she came from a wrestling family. And I I couldn't, I was shocked when I asked her how long she had been officiating. She told me this was her first year. And I was just, she's doing a fantastic job. And so it's just, you know, it's bringing that. Here's a here's a young gal that, you know, she didn't wrestle because the sport wasn't available to her, but yet had that background and had that, and now she's been being able to carry it forward in in what she knows about the sport and doing a fantastic job. Right.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

That's great. Well, and even just getting into it, you know, when you haven't done it yourself. But yeah, I that's okay. And I love that when people when people talk about wrestling, and like, oh my gosh, you know wrestling? Okay, let's talk. Yeah, it's actually not that common.

SPEAKER_04 30:53

No, it's not.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

Especially with any females, that's definitely not common where I have any other female uh friends or people that I run into that know anything about wrestling.

SPEAKER_04 31:02

And and I think that and that's the other neat thing. And I you if you listened or watched any of our podcasts during the season, I think I said this almost every episode, and that is what I think what girls wrestling is doing is also it's just it's creating awareness of the whole sport as a whole. There's a whole nother group of people, you know, the moms, you know, just that are getting involved in it that at a different level. And, you know, and it's fun to the other one was I think we were up at Bemidji uh for the Rick Leeds there, and there was a bunch of girls, a bunch of the wrestling girls that were sitting over my left shoulder. And, you know, I I'm listening to them. They're high school girls, they were wrestlers, and listening to them watching the boys in a whole different light. They were watching it from a from a wrestler standpoint. Yeah, and it was you know something that you know just never happened before. They weren't just sitting there as a fan of you know the boys. They were they were they knew what was going on. They were talking about names, they were talking about moves, and I just I just was grinning ear to ear, listening to that, thinking, ah, this is so awesome. This is I just I'm I'm so glad that we're we've done this and it it's happened, you know. It's just it and it and partly because I think for myself and I think a lot of us, we've done a lot to try to we want we want to we want to promote our sport. And this is doing it. And so it's yeah, agreed.

SPEAKER_01 32:31

Um yeah, I mean, even what you're doing here with this, Chris, and then you know, your guys' just commitment to watching and uh talking about it is you know, that's it's getting people, you're influencing people, yeah, you know, one way or another.

SPEAKER_03 32:45

So cool. Yeah. So um so uh one of the things maybe just share what you're doing now and and uh with your job right now. And uh and just with that job itself requires some uh Oh well I mean yeah, I work for Alina Health.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

I uh I oversee the uh the operations of corporate security. So I oversee all of the security officers at the campuses, uh which is all 12 campuses, 95 clinics, and all of our home health as well. And so I do oversee the training program of that, which I do partner with St. Paul Police Department, where again we uh primarily teach all ground defense. And uh obviously we have like the tasers and and things like that. I don't I don't teach anymore because I'm just um having to do the boring stuff around policy and procedure and uh law, but uh you know I definitely continue to build and invest into that program to ensure that our officers are able to protect themselves and have the appropriate uh training in order to do so. So we do partner with St. Paul police. It's called Storm, is uh who they go through, and it's it's pretty much uh the Brazilian jujitsu. And uh again, you know, between wrestling and jujitsu, it's obviously uh a little bit different, but you can see that they have some similarities to it. But um, yeah, and I absolutely love my job, and I've been there for over a decade, and yeah, I there's a challenge every day, but I love it.

SPEAKER_03 34:23

Cool. So you wrestle with that. Yep. But yep. Anyway. Well, did you have anything else you want to add?

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Um no, I just thanks for having me on, you go. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 34:36

Yeah, I know it's fun. I I kind of it getting back to just our regular podcasts and stuff. I want to do more of these, just these conversations. I just love having conversations with people that you know around our sport, understand our sport, can give it a different perspective. And and you know, you you growing up in a wrestling family and and uh um you know kind of do doing what you you've done and do, you you you bring a different perspective. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

Uh yeah, thank you guys. And uh just uh to kind of end it, I we uh have our you know our our local watering hole of the VFW here in Roseville. And uh we were there just having dinner one night, and this guy just started talking to me, he ended up ended up being from Little Falls, and his first name is Jeff, and I know you guys are gonna be pretty upset with me that I can't think of his last name, but his uh brother is the main dentist in town, so I know this is small town talk, but if this helps at all, but he goes, Wait, you're from Staples? And I said, Yeah, and he goes, I hated wrestling, you guys. So he knew all the Dravises, and you know, he uh but we sat there and talked about wrestling for probably like three hours, and we still do today. And he was actually coaching the women's or the girls' wrestling team here in Mountain View.

SPEAKER_04 35:52

Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 35:53

So just small worlds, right? But uh he uh he yeah, he knows all of like he just knows all of us.

SPEAKER_04 36:00

Yeah, little balls. That's the cool thing about the sport. I just you know, connecting with people and and yeah, you if you spot somebody with that wrestling t-shirt or uh whatever it might be, you know, it it's you always ask. There's always that discussion. So it's fun. That's cool. And that it's it's awesome that you can have that conversation with them as well, you know. Because again, you know, there's it, yeah. That's just that's right. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

And I think I did have my Minnesota Go for Wrestling selection on, too.

SPEAKER_00 36:30

To be honest, I'm pretty sure I did. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

Oh well, well, thanks a lot. Uh thanks, Chris, for having me on. And yeah, no, good talking to you, Dan.

SPEAKER_04 36:40

Okay, you take care. All right, thanks, you guys. See ya. Bye. Well, that was uh that was fun. So Steph Rice, that's uh Tim's daughter. Yeah, one one of how many five children?

SPEAKER_03 36:55

Five, one of three girls. Yeah. So uh yeah, so and I think that is um I guess one of the things that's special about uh Steples Motley is they all did basically uh not only three sports, but all the different activities that uh uh our school offers. So it provided them a lot of different opportunities and they all pursued their own interests, and and I I guess that's what the wrestling program now offers other conditional options for uh our kids of our community. And that's and look at the difference how that makes to them and their life. And that's what this is all about. Yep, yep. And wrestling can really help with that.

SPEAKER_04 37:38

Yes, I agree. Well, with that, I guess maybe we'll uh we're gonna go map side, but in a different way. Yeah, we're gonna go screenside. You're so good. But with that, I'm getting hungry. So we're gonna get this out to you, and uh maybe uh when we're all said and done with this tournament, we'll we'll come back with just uh some quick stats and call it good for a season. So um very good. All right, stay strong and stay screenside. Very good.