Don’t worry. Lockport sophomore Rebekah Ramirez doesn’t get flustered by the unexpected.
After posting a pair of wins by pin Saturday, Ramirez got taken down during her next match in the Aaron Dudley Invite at Oswego East. Still, she remained cool and unfazed in the moment.
“I didn’t want to stress myself out over that,” Ramirez said. “I certainly didn’t dwell on it. I always tell myself it’s just another match and focus on the one that you’re doing now.
“Don’t get hung up on it and do the best that you can.”
Ramirez put that philosophy to good use, achieving a quick reversal in the first period that she turned into a pin over Wheaton North’s Iana Victory in the 235-pound championship match.
Ramirez (24-7) was one of five individual champions for the Porters, who captured the team title.
Last season as a freshman, Ramirez went 36-14 as a raw, gifted newcomer to the sport. She has been looking to build off that startling rookie season, so saying beginner’s luck feels like an insult.
“Wrestling at heavyweight is tough, but I think most of it is being tough, strong and having the conditioning,” Ramirez said. “There’s a difference between 30 seconds into the first period compared with 50 seconds left in the match.
“If you don’t have the wind and you can’t get to the third period, that’s going to be a problem.”
Her opponents almost inevitably tell Ramirez how strong she is afterward. Her teammates call her a funny, competitive and sweet-natured wrestler, according to senior Averi Colella.
“She’s hilarious,” said Colella, a returning state qualifier who won the 105-pound championship Saturday. “She’s very entertaining to talk to and always fun to be around.
“I don’t know what it is, but there’s always this great dynamic between the lower weights and the heavy weights. I’ll pick her up and we’ll go to the mall sometimes and just hang out.”
A defending state champion, Lockport junior Claudia Heeney sees a purpose and profound desire in Ramirez that underscores her early success.
“I feel like she’s definitely a student of the sport,” said Heeney, who improved to 26-2 by winning the 135-pound title. “In practice, she’s always ready to learn new things.
“I’ll come over and help her out every now and then. She’s always ready for feedback. She wants to know what’s right and wrong and what she has to do better.
Ramirez also has a perfect role model in older sister Liz, now a freshman wrestler at Augustana. Liz was a state qualifier for Lockport at 115 pounds two years ago as a junior.
“I was really looking forward to qualifying with her and going downstate,” Rebekah said. “A couple of weeks before regionals last year, she broke her arm. That meant a lot for me to still get down and for her to go down there and support me.
“Even though I didn’t win any matches downstate, I didn’t get too down. I knew I was right there. I was only a freshman and there was still time.”
If her sister provided the early map for her to carve out her own identity, Rebekah is happy to catch the wave of the fastest growing participation sport in high school sports.
The camaraderie and team chemistry has made her feel a part of something special.
Having excellent training partners like junior Sophie Kelner, who took the title Saturday at 190, has accelerated her development.
“My team, we’re all best friends, we lean on each other, and that has really helped me fall in love with sport,” Ramirez said. “Since I went so far my freshman year, I feel like there’s only one place to go.
“I’m just working toward doing it again and again.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
