When Tucker Land first walked into the W.F. West wrestling room as a freshman four years ago, his eyes immediately were drawn to the building’s walls.
He briefly noticed the wall to the far left, which has all of the team’s league titles, a list so long that it’s extended to another wall. He didn’t pay much attention to the wall on the right, as there’s simply a pair of doors that lead to an office and a supply room.
The other two walls, though, have kept Land’s attention his entire high school career, and they’ve served as his motivation every time he’s stepped into the room.
Straight across from the doors are two small plaques. One plaque has W.F. West’s three-time state placers listed out, and the other has the same with the school’s four-time state placers. The first plaque has eight names listed out, and the latter has only three.
The wall across has photos of each of W.F. West’s 16 state champions lined up in order, complete with pictures of Blake Ely and Daniel Matagi, the Bearcats’ most recent champions.
Land’s driving force throughout high school has been to earn his place on those walls, and if he is able to have a successful showing at Mat Classic XXXVI this weekend, he’ll earn his spot.
“I’d be really proud of myself,” Land said. “It’s something I’ve worked for since I was a little kid. Now being able to do it and have my name up on the board for little kids to look back on and know that they can do it too, that’s what means a lot.”
A state title in any season is enough to earn a spot on the Wall of Champions, but a spot on the plague requires multiple excellent seasons in a row.
Eight Bearcats have earned a spot as three-time state placers, but only three — Charlie Bass (1983-86), Andrew White (2009-12), and Michael Anderson (2014-17) — are on as four-time placers. If Land can place this weekend, he’ll join that exclusive list.
It didn’t always seem like a possibility, though, at least not at first.
Land’s freshman season didn’t get off to a great start, but by the end of it, he was competing deep into the state tournament at 160.
“A freshman wrestling 160, that’s kind of a grown man thing,” W.F. West wrestling coach Jamie Rakevich said.
Land’s father, Josh, placed at state himself when he wrestled for W.F. West in high school, and Land made it a goal to finish higher at state than his dad ever did.
It took him just one year to do that, as he capped his freshman season with a fifth-place finish at Mat Classic XXXIII.
“Early freshman year was tough,” Land said. “And then I just started having fun again. Placing that high kind of sparked my goals even more. It was like I could really do this. It was a good accomplishment.”
His sophomore and junior seasons were even better, as he made it all the way to the state title match. He fell short in both championship matches, placing second in Mat Classic XXXIV and XXXV.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about it,” Land said. “It’s just been building a fire ever since I lost.”
This season, he’s won 23 of his 24 matches en route to earning the top seed in the 2A 190 bracket.
Rakevich gave plenty of credit to Land for his development over the last four years, and he also made sure to give him credit for helping to bring along some of his teammates, including fellow seniors Kage Homan, Andrew Snyder, and Beau Guyette.
“The impact Tucker has had, you can’t short that at all,” Rakevich said. “It’s just all about those kids reaching their goals and what they get out of the sport. I’m really hoping (Land) gets what he deserves out of it.”
With just a few days before his final wrestling tournament, Land is trying to keep things loose. He mentioned how he’s let himself get worked up mentally in the past and how it negatively impacted his performance.
“I just wanna be able to let it fly, be confident, and have fun,” Land said. “It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I’m excited to go spend time with all of my teammates and be able to wrestle one last time and take it all in.”
