Athlete Spotlight: Tyson Rice

WILLISTON – Under the bright lights and a captive audience inside the Fargodome, Williston’s Tyson Rice headed to the center of the mat for the overtime period in the Class A finals of the 160-pound division last February.
The four-month grind of practice and competing would come down to this moment. His mind was clear and focused. The junior was confident.
“I just trusted by training and conditioning,’’ Rice recalls. “I went out there with a winning mentality, and entering the OT period, I knew I could get the takedown and win, and I did just that.”
The senior enters this postseason clear and focused again.
His coach, Devan Williams, has been impressed with Tyson’s approach and how he’s taken steps to build on last year’s success.
“I truly believe winning your second state title is much more difficult than winning your first,’’ Williams said. “It’s really easy to fall into that mindset that: ‘I’m already the best and what I already do has proven to work.’’’ 
Rice hasn’t fallen into that trap. He knows the competition, especially those challengers who turned in some close matches, are going to be gunning to defeat him.
“Tyson has done an exceptional job remaining a student of the sport,’’ Williams said. “He has sought out top-tier training opportunities in Iowa and has implement what he as learned into his daily drills and how he competes.”
Rice grew up in a family with a wrestling background. “My dad and two brothers wrestled in high school, so that is the main reason I got introduced to the sport,’’ he recalls.
But once he started in grade school, it didn’t take much coaxing to stick with it. “You have to be your biggest motivator out there on the match because nobody can control what happens besides you, which is what I love about wrestling,’’ he said. Everything is on me and I can control what happens in my own match.”
By seventh grade he was competing in high school matches. Those first few seasons taught him the importance of learning from past experiences; develop a good work ethic and apply the training and tactics into his matches.
“My skills have grown insanely since (seventh grade) and I’ve learned to adapt to the training and take it all in and show it while competing,’’ Rice said.
His first few years in the program came under the tutelage of coach Gresh Jones. After Jones left to coach at the collegiate level, Williams took the coaching reins and saw great potential in Rice.
“When I first met Tyson, it was apparent that he was already a highly-skilled wrestler,’’ he said. “Our big thing that we worked on last year was his confidence and how he handled himself on the mat. We did some mindset-work and it drastically improved how he competed. Tyson is a really nice kid who is actually pretty quiet and reserved. He basically needed to give himself permission to go out and dominate guys.”
Once the new approach was established, Tyson became a force to be reckoned with.
As a veteran with hundreds of matches under his belt, there isn’t many situations or challenges Rice hasn’t encountered.
“Tyson is a bit more of an unconventional wrestler,’’ Williams said. “He is comfortable in a lot of situations that most wrestlers would bail out in. He matches other wrestler’s intensity well.”
His offseason training has taken him to Minnesota, Iowa, Montana and Florida. He’s participated in many camps and competitions over the summer months.
And while those experiences afforded him a chance to grown as individual, he said he’s fortunate to be part of dedicated team at home. “I’m so glad to be part of our program and I’m excited to see what we can do at state duals as a team,’’ Rice said. “To show our dedication and hard work in and out of the (wrestling) room.”
The Coyote program is on an upward trajectory, and Rice and his fellow seniors have helped to continue the great culture.
“Tyson isn’t really the most outspoken of our leaders, but when he does say something the other individuals on the team definitely listen up,’’ Williams said. “It’s awesome having a guy like him in the room. If you look at our weights around him, it’s very clear that others on our team have benefitted from having the opportunity to wrestle with him day in and day out.”

There will be more wrestling in Rice’s future. He will attend and compete at the University of Jamestown which is led by former Coyote coach Jones.

He’s excited for that opportunity, but also for the chance to defend his state title and finish out his high school career along with his friends and teammates.

Photo by Justine Thompson, WDA event photographer