Boys wrestling state qualifier: Declan Gard

‘Playing chess,’ thoughtful Gard achieves lifelong dream

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Declan Gard

Rochester junior wrestler Declan Gard has transformed his mind and his body.

The 145-pound kid who did not make it out of sectionals in 2023 is a state qualifier at heavyweight two years later.

He finished third at the East Chicago semistate last week and will wrestle South Putnam’s Keenan Mowery-Shields in the first round of the IHSAA state finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at 6 p.m. today.

Gard is 41-5 on the season and ranked No. 12. His five losses have been to No. 5 Kameron Hazelett of Lowell in the semistate semifinals and to Peru’s No. 6 Trevi Hillman-Conley (twice) and Warsaw’s No. 7 Kameron Kauffman (twice).

But Gard also has a win over Kauffman by fall in the sectional final. And Gard is going to state while Hillman-Conley and Kauffman are not.

“It feels great,” Gard said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid.”

Gard was one short of making state last year, losing in the semistate ticket round at 175 to Hobart’s Aidan Costello on a technical fall.

It was believed that Gard would go up to 215 for this year, but he kept excelling on the mat as he gained weight.

“No, not at all,” Gard said when asked if he would have believed it if somebody told him one year ago that he would be a heavyweight.

His practice partner is Rochester career wins leader Brady Beck, a 2024 grad who is also one of his assistant coaches. Brady Beck moved up from 215 to heavyweight for his senior year.

“At first, it was hard just carrying all the weight,” Gard said. “But going with Brady every single day helps. … It’s a lot different when you gain that much weight, but now, I feel I can move maybe even a little bit better than I did a year ago.”

The mental approach to heavyweight wrestling is also different from 145 or 175.

“You’re playing chess more than you’re playing checkers,” Gard explained. “You’re kind of waiting for him to make a mistake, or you’re going, you’re going, you’re going until he makes a mistake. You have to be a lot more thoughtful when you’re wrestling heavyweight.”

Gard began his East Chicago semistate by smothering River Forest’s Josh Mayo and pinning him in 1:01.

He then faced McCutcheon’s Alex Luna in the ticket round. Already leading 1-0 late in the second period, he got a takedown of Luna on a counter just before the buzzer. It appeared as if both wrestlers thought they heard a buzzer.

“We both did,” Gard said when asked if Luna stopped wrestling. “We heard a whistle, and we both kind of stood up. And then his coach was yelling at him, so he dove in on a shot. And I countered, re-attacked and got a takedown. … That kid, you could tell he didn’t want to do anything. He just wanted to wait for me to make a mistake, and that’s when I knew I had to score.”

Gard then lost to Hazelett 11-1. He said he wrestled “a little worse than I could have” and said Hazelett could counter off every shot that he tried.

He then bounced back to beat Hobart’s Luke Juris 4-1 in overtime in the third-place match. He said Juris got very tired after the first period and said he knew he would eventually get a takedown.

Gard’s father Clint is the former Rochester coach, and his brothers Drew Sailors and Greyson Gard both were highly accomplished Zebra wrestlers. His best friend is fellow state qualifier Brant Beck.

“Mentally, I think it’s really good that he has a mind that’s not at practice to bounce stuff off with his dad,” Rochester coach Tristan Wilson said. “And I think as of late, he’s been journaling a lot, and he’s been really focusing in on the mental side of everything. I think we had a little slip-up at regional, but it ended up being a better route for us. I don’t know if it was fate, but it’s good to get a good draw for us.”

So Gard has seen a lot of wrestling and has a thoughtful approach to the sport. His game plan against Luna at semistate, which he formulated with Brady Beck, was to score early and that if he did, he would win. That is exactly what happened.

But he said he can overthink things, like when he lost to Kauffman 4-1 in the regional final at Rochester Feb. 8. He said he needs to trust his instincts.

“I feel like my regional match two weeks ago against Kauffman, I got into my head about what I was going to do instead of just going out there and wrestle, and we saw how that ended up (a 4-1 loss),” Gard said.

Gard and Mowery-Shields, ranked 15th, wrestled previously this season at the Mooresville Classic in December, and Gard won in overtime.

“He’s pretty strong,” Gard said. “We figured out he can squat about 600 pounds. I beat him before. Obviously, that doesn’t mean anything, but I know I can beat him, so I’m excited for it.”