Ryan Vigil CO: Student of the Sport

Ryan Vigil CO – Student of the Sport
By Bill X. Barron

In this age where we have fewer opportunities to celebrate athletic prodigiousness, reflect for a moment on the importance of character. For Broomfield (CO) junior Ryan Vigil, the focus of adults in his life has been “to not only coach, but also lead him to be all the person he wants to be,” according to father-coach Marcus.

In the summers, Ryan and his older sister Ariana have served as volunteer readers to youth at the local library. Together with their parents, Marcus and Isabel, the Vigil family participates in the Cold Weather Care Group, helping house and feed the homeless through the long Colorado winters.

To guide them in an eleven-year journey toward manhood, when Ryan was six they were “blessed” to discover Coach Ben VomBaur just as he was starting the Bear Cave youth wrestling club while serving as assistant head coach at the University of Northern Colorado.

Coach Ben nurtured Ryan’s mat intellect while always emphasizing excellence in the pursuit of an education. Thus, it is not surprising that VomBaur refers to Ryan as “a student of the sport. A technician.” Off the mat, Broomfield’s Academic All-American has received inquiries from Duke and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

On the mat, “Ryan is one of the most intelligent wrestlers I have had the pleasure of working with,” cites his private coach Luke Schroeder, an Indiana native who himself made the Big Ten All-Academic Team three times while at Purdue in 2011-16. “Ryan trusts in his training and ability. No matter the opponent, he expects to win.”

A 2-time NCAA All-American at Boise State and undefeated in Washington high school competition, VomBaur believes that Ryan “is on track to become great. His athleticism has grown as Ryan has, so he has become more and more dangerous.” Schroeder agrees: “Ryan is a truly unique wrestler who has the potential to accomplish all his goals and to compete at the highest level.”

As a sophomore this past season, Ryan came from behind to beat Loveland’s highly-ranked Cody Thompson (a BC club teammate) in the Class 4A Colorado Regional semis but had to get six stitches in his forehead before capturing the 126-lb. title with a fall over Pueblo West’s Kobi Montano.

Characteristically, Ryan’s journey has not been without bumps in the road (and head). Ranked #1 in Colorado State as a freshman at 106 pounds, Ryan missed weight by one-tenth of a pound at regionals. Missing weight was a character lesson that taught Ryan the importance of “sticking to the plan, never giving up.”

He has used this unusually long off-season to lift weights and soak up additional technique. As a team leader, he encourages less experienced wrestlers to “not get discouraged. Rather than focus on the downs, prove to yourself that you can succeed.”

In school, Ryan gravitates to social studies because he has the curiosity to “learn how things came to be.” Similarly, to advance his grappling education, Ryan and Marcus travel daily across the state to learn from different coaches and weekly all over the country to seek out the best opposition. In Westminster, they reside near RMN Events’ national headquarters.

“We greatly appreciate the fact that the Gutierrez family and MRN have taken the initiative to find a way to give wrestlers the opportunity to compete. Adding a high school division to Cosmic Clash shows their willingness to support all levels of wrestlers. It is risky in this climate of uncertainty, but their efforts are truly valued.

“We have used several RMN events as an excuse for a family vacation, which is a bonus. We made lifetime memories in South Dakota (where Ryan was 18U 138-lb. champion), and we were able to visit family in Missouri.” At the 2020 RMN National Championships in Kansas City, relocated from Denver, Ryan was the 18U 138-lb. runner-up in freestyle and 3rd in folkstyle.

When he is not driving an hour north for Bear Cave practice, Ryan heads south an hour to seek counsel from Luke Morris of Black Fox Wrestling Academy, who is known for his innovative technique. Morris drills Ryan in the positions which challenged him a sophomore at the 2020 Colorado High School State Championships, where he finished 5th at 126 lbs.

From Coach Morris, Ryan says he’s learning “how to win close matches when you need something extra and how to be mentally tough enough to come from behind to win.” With Coach VomBaur, “Ryan has found his on-the-mat dad with whom he can release frustration and receive real-life guidance,” states Marcus.

Even after more than a decade in the sport, Ryan is still learning. Yet Isabel first had to be convinced that wrestling could change her son’s life. Then she attended the Colorado Hall of Fame awards banquet in 2005 which honored Marcus’ high school coach, Ranum’s Wayne Humphrey.

At this ceremony, a coach returned a suit jacket loaned 25 years ago when he did not own one in which to coach. Others, now working professionals with a life of their own, spoke to how Coach Humphrey taught them to “be the best they could be.” Ryan’s mother recognized that “wrestling is more than a sport – it teaches you to become a great citizen who contributes to society,” relates Marcus.

Instead of letting wrestling action happen in isolation, Ryan’s style is that of creator and responder to situations or opponents. “I prefer folkstyle, as I can funk without giving up points like in freestyle.” As Schroeder notes: “He sees tendencies in other wrestlers that most kids overlook, then utilizes them to his advantage.”

Ryan “lets the wrestling come to me, then I can be creative in the moment. Rather than follow one set of techniques, I create my own style depending on the circumstance.” In this way, Ben V has been an ideal coach because “he stays out of the way and just lets them grow in their unique way,” adds Marcus.

Marcus continues: “Ryan has been fortunate to not only have the best coaches, but also those who are also great men.” These coaches are examples to emulate, like Broomfield assistants Johnny Torres, who teaches to life as “test of toughness,” and Jason Cole, who is “always calling Ryan about some new technique he just watched.”

Ryan appreciates the fact that “my father believes enough in me to take me all over the country.” While Marcus acknowledges that he enjoys spending nearly every day traveling to a practice, tournament, or camp, at times “I have questioned my efforts as a parent.” Then he hears Coach VomBaur reminding him: “Don’t worry about it. Kids peak at different times.”

Just stay the course. As goes wrestling, so goes life. Rewards will come to those who earn them, rarely without struggle, never without sacrifice, and yet worth all the more through sustained effort.
For as Ryan has found, one’s true character is only revealed in the moment one’s best is called out.