Two Ho-Chunk wrestlers help bring back the trophy at Indigenous Games
By Ken Luchterhand
Two young Ho-Chunk set out on what seemed like an impossible mission.
Like a scene out of “Miracle on Ice,” the story of the underdog American hockey team beating the heavily favored Russian team, outnumbered Team Wisconsin pulled off a miraculous victory in July at the 2017 North American Indigenous Games, defeating the favored Team Saskatchewan.
Josh Ryckman and Justice Blackhawk were two wrestlers on Team Wisconsin who helped bring home the Todd Diabo Memorial Trophy, capturing the championship for Team Wisconsin for the first time.
Coach Marty Ybarra gathered the wrestlers from all corners of the state, preparing them for a fight they were not willing to relinquish.
“It was an honor to coach them, not just the Ho-Chunk athletes, but the whole team,” Ybarra said. “I’m surprised at how well we did with just six wrestlers.”
Josh Rykman
As one of the members of the team, Josh had the desire to be an athlete at the Indigenous Games three years ago, but was unsure he could accomplish what he set out to do. He wanted to be a track athlete, but ended up not participating.
This time he saw the opportunity and he grabbed it, this time in wrestling.
Josh had been wrestling for two years at his Madison high school, where he attended school, so he figured he had enough experience to participate in the tryouts.
After he attended the tryouts, where he and other candidates wrestled and were judged for their abilities, he was notified by mail that he had made the team. After that, the wrestling team then met three times for practice before heading to Canada.
When it came time to leave, Josh drove to Milwaukee to meet at the Ho-Chunk Youth Center. They rode together to Toronto, Canada, and stayed in a hotel. He and Justice had met a few times before at the practices. Since the Wisconsin team was only six people, they were a close-knit group, gathering together and cheering each other on at the meets and the medal ceremony.
Josh wrestled in the 69 kilogram, or 152 pound, class.
“I always get nervous before a match,” Josh said. “When I step on the mat, I forget everything about being nervous.”
The Team Wisconsin wrestlers were concerned about following the rules of the matches. In Wisconsin, wrestlers follow a “folkstyle” method. At the games, the style was considered “freestyle.”
“I wasn’t up on the rules, so I stuck to what I know,” Josh said.
They were very supportive of each other, cheering on their teammates when they wrestled. In the end, all Team Wisconsin wrestlers received either a gold or silver medal, with all appearing on a giant stage to receive their awards. Josh wrestled three matches to win the gold.
When they announced the winning team, it surprised the Team Saskatchewan members that Team Wisconsin had won.
Team Saskatchewan had taken the top trophy for the last three years and had 14 members at the 2017 games while Team Wisconsin only had six.
“It was a fun trip and to support both the tribe and the state,” Josh said. “It’s definitely something I will remember.”
He has advice for young athletes who may be considering entering competition at the Indigenous Games.
“Try out because you never know, there might be an opening,” he said. “No matter what sport you are interested in, make it the best you can and give it a try.”
Justice Blackhawk
Simillar to Josh, Justice wanted to participant in the North American Indigenous Games three years ago, but didn’t quite make the cut.
“I did try out and was an alternate on the baseball team, but I didn’t get to go,” Justice said.
This time, Coach Marty Yabarra encouraged him try out for the wrestling team.
Justice has been wrestling in high school since his sophomore year and now, having graduated from high school, his chance had arrived.
Justice, who lives in Tomah, is pursuing a criminal justice degree at the Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire.
Although the type of wrestling was different, known as freestyle, Yabarra tried to set aside any fears the wrestlers might have.
“Marty just said ‘wrestling is wrestling, so just do what you know. It’s easy to adapt,’” he said.
“I was definitely nervous,” Justice said. “I didn’t know if I was going to be good and I thought the other wrestlers were levels above us because of that style.”
At the games, teammates would be present to watch each other in their matches.
“Since they had one match at a time, we all were able to watch and cheer. Everyone was there for each other,” he said.
Another of his mentors, Coach Tomorrow from Shawano, kept saying, ‘expect gold,’ Justice said.
Everyone from Team Wisconsin won their matches in the first round, so the excitement and tension was building.
“When everyone in Team Wisconsin won in the first round, we began to say, ‘we can go for the gold.’”
As the final round of wrestling progressed, Coach Tomorrow kept checking his phone to see the updates on the statistics. He thought we had either second or first place. It came down to the last match - the heavyweight match.
“It was wild and crazy,” Justice said. “Even the track team was watching and cheering.”
When all the matches were completed, they knew their fate with a single announcement.
“Team Wisconsin, come and get your trophy, they announced,” he said.
Team Saskatchewan was huffing and puffing, upset they had not captured first place again, he said. All the teams came up to them to shake their hands.
After the awards ceremony, Blackhawk didn’t get to stay with the team, but instead had to head back, so he departed at the Toronto airport.
“It definitely was an eye-opening experience,” Justice said. “The opening ceremony was more exciting than I thought it would be. I got to meet people from all over the United States and Canada, people who live differently than we do.”
Justice is glad he had the opportunity to participate and see the coming together of athletes for friendly competition.
“Even if I didn’t compete, it would have been a great experience. In addition, the fact that people see you succeed was really great. It was awesome to see the people of Wisconsin come together,” Justice said.
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