Outside Looking In
Officials at the Section 3A individual wrestling tournament Saturday in Canby indicated the winner of each match with a simple raising of their arm. That has been a common practice in wrestling for decades.
But being a winner isn't always about having your arm raised. Ezequiel "Zeke" Monzon was one of the biggest winners in the entire tournament, yet he won only one of his three matches and finished eighth in his 120-pound weight class. It didn't matter who he faced or whether or not he won; he has already beaten the biggest foe of all. Monzon was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in early May of 2019, during his eighth-grade school year at Minneota High School.
He spent his 14th birthday on May 7 at the Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls, celebrating with family, a few friends and a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. He lost all of his thick hair and felt very ill and weak after undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
He had to stop going to school last year for awhile. And he had to stop wrestling. But he never gave up hope. Not once. And for that, he will always be a winner in my book, whether his arm is raised or not. "I have a lot of faith and I never thought about giving up," he said.
"Not in life and not in wrestling."
Monzon entered the 3A tournament having wrestled only three varsity matches all season, although he did wrestle regularly on the JV team and posted a 10-8 record. He was inserted into the Section 3A lineup on Saturday with a 2-1 varsity record because regular 120-pounder Eric Carrasco moved up to 113 pounds for the tournament. Monzon is relatively new the sport of wrestling.
He didn't start out in kids wrestling programs, nor did he hone his skills attending wrestling camp like many others.
In October, he was declared cancer free. If cancer was his wrestling opponent, Monzon scored a two-point reversal, followed by a three-point nearfall and then a pin.
We all should raise this kid's arm. When Monzon entered the Canby gymnasium and saw all the fans (one school official estimated there were 800), he looked all around in amazement. "I was really nervous," he said with a soft laugh.
"I've never seen anything like this." In his first section match, Monzon was pitted against Carter Beranek of Wabasso-Red Rock Central.
In a score more accustomed to football than wrestling, Monzon prevailed, 16-14. Beranek would go on to finish sixth. In his next match, Monzon was pinned in the first period to top-seeded Ayden Horner of Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove.
Horner would go on to win the tournament. In his wrestleback match, Monzon lost 6-4 to Reese Morris of Adrian Area, who would go on to finish fifth.
When all three of those opponents took their place on the medal stand at the end of the tournament indicating those who finished in the top six, Monzon could only watch and listen as each name was introduced.
"All I wanted was to do my best and make people proud," he said. "I think I did that." Monzon feels he is around "90 percent" healthy when compared to how he felt before he was diagnosed with cancer.
He has impressed his teammates and coaches with his abilities, perseverance and positive outlook. "He has the potential to be an outstanding wrestler for us," said Minneota Coach Matt Myrvik.
"He's such a great kid. After all he has had to overcome and having only wrestled a few matches on varsity, he did a great job in this tournament." Monzon finished the season with a 3-3 record. But he will be remembered for having beaten a much bigger opponent than those three.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: No matter how hard things are, tomorrow is a fresh opportunity to make things better.