LA CROSSE — Tyson Martin was angry as he waited for an ambulance to arrive and transport him to a hospital after dislocating his right elbow in a WIAA Division 3 state semifinal wrestling match at the Kohl Center.
He thinks he was, anyway.
A freak accident ended his bid at a third straight title match and possible first championship — the Aquinas High School junior’s season made him a clear favorite to win the 215-pound bracket — just 7 seconds into the semifinal.
That would infuriate most, but that’s not how Martin operates. He first had to deal with the pain.
“As I sat there, I was seeing stars, and my vision was kind of fading,” Martin said after a short practice session at Three Rivers Performance on Tuesday. “I almost passed out from the pain.”
“Angry? I guess I was a little angry. I can definitely say I was angry during the whole ride to the hospital.”
Martin has another chance to win a title as a senior before heading off to wrestle at South Dakota State, and he is already focused on that after a much shorter recovery period than expected.
He wore a hard cast for a week and continued doctor appointments every two weeks for a while, but he found small ways to exercise his arm without disrupting its natural rehabilitation.
Martin, a two-time state runner-up and one-time fourth-place finisher with a 123-12 career record, implemented skull crushers — without weights — as a way to keep his arm active without putting stress on it. The exercise is an arm extension that allowed him to gradually straighten his elbow.
“I couldn’t even hold a 5-pound weight,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I rested it, but I didn’t want my muscle to get weaker.”
He also took that down time to watch wrestling video and really focus on what he wants to accomplish in matches. He just didn’t do that physically.
“I was wrestling in my head,” Martin said. “A lot of the stuff I’m doing now is stuff I didn’t do before. It’s stuff I developed in my head when I was hurt.”
Two months after the injury, Martin was preparing to compete in the state freestyle tournament. He placed second in his bracket before continuing work on his right arm.
More than four months later, Martin is still striving for full extension but he has full strength. After spending a chunk of time attending practice sessions and working with his dad, Curtis, Martin is back to typical workouts with peers.
And after heading to a training camp in River Falls this weekend and the FargoDome in Fargo, N.D., for national competition early next week, Martin will concentrate on football and trying to help the Blugolds defend the Coulee Conference title they won a year ago.
Martin will play outside linebacker and help out on the offensive line as Aquinas tries to fill graduation holes. Having the 240-pounder anywhere on the field will benefit the Blugolds, who have won 51 of 55 games and three state titles since the start of the 2021 season.
Aquinas was 11-2 before losing to eventual champion Racine St. Catherine’s in the Division 4 semifinals.
“I think our defense is going to be really good,” said Martin, who made 53 tackles — 7 for loss — and forced a fumble as a junior. “You always lose guys, and we lost some good ones, but I think we have some really good replacement at all of those spots.
“The big one is (defensive back) because we don’t have Trey Bahr, Isaac Schelfhout and Declan Hass, but we have some good guys coming up, and I feel pretty confident about that.”
But wrestling is at the forefront for another week before he returns from Fargo and joins the Blugolds for a joint football practice or two with Onalaska next week.
With the absence of a regular workout program immediately after the injury, Martin said he gained some significant weight. He said he stands in at 240 pounds now after competing at state freestyle as a heavyweight.
Martin lost the semifinal to defending Division 2 285-pound champ — and eventual state freestyle champ — Hunter Vander Heiden before winning twice by technical fall for the runner-up spot.
Martin hopes that set him up for a good performance in Fargo, which is a significant tournament for elite wrestlers.
“It’s a national championship (tournament), so to me that’s more important than state,” he said. “This is my everything, especially this year.”
