Nov. 27, 2007: The Spectrum

Rubalcaba Hungry for Chance to Earn Respect
by Bob Hudson

ST. GEORGE — The scenario isn't a new one in this season in which some of Southern Utah's athletes compete in Class 4A and others compete in Class 3A.

"I don't get much respect in 4A," said Snow Canyon wrestler Marty Rubalcaba, who won the 119-pound Class 3A state championship last winter. "But it keeps me hungry. It gives me something to shoot for. As long as I go out and wrestle the way I should wrestle, I should be one of the top people in 4A."

The Warriors will open their season this weekend at the Layton tournament which will feature 4A and 5A teams from the northern part of Utah.

"We've always competed in tournaments with those 4A and 5A teams," said Snow Canyon coach Wane Kittrell. "I don't think the class thing affects anyone. The guy he wrestles weighs the same and is the same age or younger.

"Marty has a wealth of experience under his belt," Kittrell continued. "Every summer he continues to wrestle freestyle as well as Greco-Roman. He has wrestled some of the best kids in the country."

Although he's now a senior and a year older, Rubalcaba will again wrestle at 119 pounds.

"Of course I want to be state champion," Rubalcaba said of his goals for the season. "That's my main goal, but region champion and being able to do better are in there, too."

Rubalcaba said he has been wrestling for the past 11 years, since about second grade. He and his family lived in California until they moved to St. George about four years ago.

He said he enjoys the one-on-one competitive nature of wrestling.

"It's just me and the other guy," he said. "Whoever wins is the better guy."

Rubalcaba said he is able to stay interested in year-round wrestling because both his dad and coach Kittrell keep practices fun.

Among Rubalcaba's strengths, Kittrell said, are "he's quick and strong."

Others, Rubalcaba said, include his size and his technique.

"I'm pretty smart and technically good," Rubalcaba said. "I'm pretty fast, too. I may not be as strong as another guy but I'm tall for a 119-pounder (at 5-foot-10) and that makes me a little awkward to wrestle."

Although Region 9's wrestlers will compete in two different tournaments for state qualification, they'll compete in dual meets against one another just as they have in the past.

"Last year Derek Clawson was good," Rubalcaba said of his Dixie High opponent who finished second to him at the state tournament. "And Skyler Mills from Hurricane was tough, too."

Both of them are back this season and will try to block Rubalcaba from meeting his goals while reaching their own goals.

Much of the credit for Rubalcaba's success, he said, goes to his training partners. Tanner Gates, Lewis Wilde and Joe LaFontaine are Warrior wrestlers who battle him in practice.

While the season is just beginning, Rubalcaba acknowledged that he would like to wrestle collegiately. He has received some inquiries, but nothing substantial yet.

"I think I'll finish out this season, then see what's out there," Rubalcaba said. "Free college is free college, right? I'd like to go into secondary education because I'd like to coach. Or maybe sports science."

Although he said he isn't a straight-A student, Rubalcaba said, "good grades are important in my family."