By Rob Sherrill

Never mind that Ryak Finch is from one of the nation’s smaller wrestling states — Arizona — and from one of its smaller communities of Safford, which sits two hours north of Tucson.                        

            Or that, even after dominating the 112-pound weight class at Fargo last summer, the questions still persist about whether he’ll become a full-sized college 125-pounder.

            With single-minded determination, Finch of Safford High took a major step toward answering all those questions. He’s one of the highlights of a dynamic early signing class that put Iowa State University firmly in the top five recruiting classes nationally.

            Finch and fellow signee Luke Goettl, the Cadet National champion from Cottonwood Mingus High in the northern part of the state, continue the Arizona-to-Ames connection that goes back a number of years, highlighted by multiple All-America finishes by Tucson Sunnyside brothers Nate and Nick Gallick.

            The two-time Class 3A state champion has excelled on every stage throughout his career. Finch enters his senior season with a 143-2 career record, including a 59-0 season last year. Before winning his double Junior National championship last summer, he was a double Juniors finalist in 2008. He’s also won the NHSCA Nationals the past two years — in the Sophomores and Juniors championships — at Virginia Beach, Va., and took the Most Falls award in the NHSCA National Freshman championships in 2007.

            Finch is the big fish in Safford’s pond and the Bulldogs have become one of the state’s top programs. The coaching team of his father, Rick, who works with Safford’s youth wrestlers, and high school coach Herman Andrews have assembled the teams that have powered Safford to the past five 3A state titles – with 19 individual state champions over that span.

            Last year, Safford became the first school from a class as small as 3A — the second-smallest of Arizona’s six wrestling classes — to win Arizona’s most prestigious tournament, the Flowing Wells Invitational in Tucson. The Bulldogs outscored Tucson Sunnyside High, 203-187, to take the title home.

            Also an outstanding student, Finch owns a grade-point average of 3.94, scored 29 on the ACT and is ranked No. 14 in a class numbering just under 200 — and has his sights set possibly on medical school one day.

            He’s a very articulate young man, as he reveals in this candid interview.

            WIN: The biggest question college recruiters had about you was whether you’d be big enough for 125.

            Finch: I came in at the beginning of the season weighing about 126, 127 pounds. We have the hydration tests coming up, so I’ve been trying to stay good and hydrated. Right now, I’m right around 119 and that’s where I’m planning to wrestle this year..

            WIN: Arizona kids have a history of success at Iowa State. Talk about the decision process and why you decided to sign with the Cyclones.

            Finch: Iowa State was definitely my top choice all the way through. Especially after talking to Coach Jackson and Coach Bono and Coach Yero (Washington). I did my research on the guys, and on the school, and it just seemed like not only the coaches, but the entire area — the whole town of Ames — is so supportive of Iowa State wrestling.

            WIN: You and Luke Goettl will both be going to Iowa State. I’m sure you guys have been friends for a long time.

            Finch: We’ve wrestled together since we were eight years old. We actually went against each other a lot, all the way through middle school and when we got into high school, he started outgrowing me. So ever since then we’ve been really good friends and good training partners. We went on our recruiting trip together, it’s just awesome that he’ll get to go to the same school as me. I know we’ll be training partners and help each other through college, too.

            WIN: With the academic resume you bring to the table, you obviously could go to any college.            

            Finch: A lot of the Ivy League schools, Cornell and Columbia, were pretty high on my list. The biggest thing, I think, was my recruiting trip. When I went on my recruiting trip, the coaches were really welcoming, but the team, too. They made us feel like a part of the team, and that was a big part of my decision. Some places, they have a huge football stadium, where there’s 1,000s of people there but wrestling kind of seems out on the wayside. But you go to Iowa State, where we went to the tailgate with the wrestling team, there were 100s of people there, supporting the wrestling team.

            WIN: What will be your college major?

            Finch: I want to go into the medical field. I’ll probably major in biology. My long-term strategy is Olympics, grad school, medical school something like that.

            WIN: Iowa State is bringing in two or three 125-pounders in this class. You’re going to have a lot of guys to work out with.

            Finch: That was really important to me, the quality of the workout partners. Guys like Nate Gallick are still there training, too. I couldn’t have done better anywhere else.

            WIN: Ryak is kind of an unusual first name. What is its origin?

            Finch: The way I understand the story is that my Mom and Dad were in a pizza parlor and my dad was playing a video game when my Mom told him she was pregnant. It turned out one of the characters he was playing with — it was some kind of a fighting game — was named Ryak.

            WIN: You’re from Safford, a small town out in eastern Arizona. Is that a town in which your family goes way back?

            Finch: No, my Dad got a job in the (copper) mine down here. We moved here when I was about six years old. My parents are both from the northern part of the state. That’s where they met. My uncle went to school down here at Eastern Arizona College and that’s how they found out about coming here.

            WIN: How did Safford get to be such a great wrestling town?

            Finch: I think the biggest thing is the youth program. My Dad is an amazing coach and he’s been working with the youth and the middle school program ever since I was real young. A lot of them start when they’re about five and he brings them up through middle school. It’s not a real big town and it’s taken a lot of years to develop. But it’s definitely coming around right now.

            WIN: What about your dad’s background in wrestling?

            Finch: He wrestled in high school. I don’t know that he had the interest in it then like I do now, but he started me when I was real young. We started going to a lot of camps together, and learned from the best people that we could. Other than that, it’s just been hard work and he’s been a great motivator for me. Doing those things with him really helps.

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