Few people expected the Constantine wrestling team to have put its stamp on 17 wins at this point in the season after losing nine seniors from last year’s squad. What was assumed, however, was that senior Andres Montoya and junior Andy Waterman would have an opportunity to join the state’s elite grapplers in Division 4.
Andy Waterman
(Photo by Jan Becraft-Reed)
Waterman, one of many strong brothers to represent the Falcons on the mat, came into 2013-14 with brute strength and some rough edges. Montoya entered the season with speed and skill and a big chip on his shoulder after failing to place at the Michigan High School Athletic Association Individual State Finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The goal for Waterman this year was to work a little more finesse into his attack, while Montoya’s aim was to finish matches strong.
It has worked out well for the duo, which has resided in the MichiganGrappler.com state rankings for most of the year. Montoya has wrestled mostly at 145 pounds, but it’s unclear which weight class he’ll be in when districts roll around. He’s currently ranked No. 6 at 140 pounds in Division 4. Waterman, also with some weight flexibility, is listed as an honorable mention at 160.
The two have helped guide the Falcons to a 17-1 record and 4-0 mark in the Kalamazoo Valley Association, with Montoya currently holding a 29-0 record and Waterman standing tall at 24-3.
“We don’t have what we would call true captains on our team,” Falcons coach Steve Wilson said. “Everybody’s job is to be a leader, to have captain characteristics and to make sure that when our leaders, so to say, are down that we have got to pick them up. I think we do a very good job of creating a team concept within an individual sport.
“Where [Montoya and Waterman] do their best job in terms of leadership is by example. They work very, very hard. They will certainly answer questions that anybody has.”
A young man Wilson calls a “horse” doesn’t engage much in idle chitchat and is mostly businesslike, as was his older brother, Ricky, who qualified for the state finals as a senior in 2010 — finishing 8th at 160 pounds to make all-state — after posting an 8-12 record as a freshman new to the sport, and Daniel and Randy, who currently suit up for the Falcons at 171 and 189 pounds, respectively.
Falcons Flashback: My feature story on Ricky Waterman for the Kalamazoo Gazette in 2010.
Relentless bloody noses hindered Waterman last season, to the point Wilson felt it would be a liability to consistently put him in the starting lineup for fear of losing six points to bleeding out. That hasn’t been an issue this winter, nor has Waterman’s desire to take things to the next level.
“I would say his worth ethic is a little better,” Wilson said. “Any Waterman that you ever run across will be the hardest working person in the room, period. But he’s working with a focus and a goal in mind, whereas last year he was just working. Now he wants to go to the state finals.”
Added Waterman: “I guess I’m just more focused. [The rankings] kind of make me feel like I need to do better. I just want to do my best and my main goal is to place better than eighth at least. I want to beat [Ricky].”
Montoya picked up his 150th career victory last weekend on his way to a tourney title at Comstock — a milestone he never imagined would be attainable.
Andres Montoya
(Photo by Tammy West)
“Not many people can say they got to 150 wins; a lot of them just dream about it,” he said. “I actually got there. When I was a freshman I never thought I would get to 150 wins. I thought I would be lucky to get 100.”
Reaching the state finals as a freshman and a junior, Montoya hopes that experience will translate to a much more comfortable situation this year. As a junior, he lost his first and third matches to miss the podium.
“A lot of people where expecting me to place and I kind of just choked towards the end,” he said. “I was up 3-0 with 30 seconds left (in the third match) and I wasn’t focused and the guy got the best of me. That kind of irritated me. I have to finish matches and focus on what’s in front of me instead of on what’s next. The kid that beat me ended up finishing fifth.”
Wilson is pleased with how Montoya is starting to close out matches aggressively, searching for every available point no matter how large the lead.
“He’s maintained the status quo,” Wilson explained. “He’s attacking kids; he’s getting after things. Andres and I both believe he should have been a state medalist last year. If he can maintain that I think he can medal this year. He can go a couple weight classes. He could look at going 140 or 145 — I don’t know, he could go 152. Andres has always been very good on his feet; he’s very good from bottom and he’s very good from top. Andres is just a solid wrestler all the way through.”