Rocky Clark surging as Kernel wrestling leader in junior season
· Yahoo Sports
Feb. 6—MITCHELL — There's two phases to Rocky Clark's pre-match routine, at least in terms of music.
When Clark has some rap playing in his oversized headphones, he's focusing on getting loose and clearing his mind. And when he flips his playlist over to laidback music, that means he's ready to get on the mat.
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"I like to calm the nerves before going out into a big crowd and wrestling and performing my best," Clark said.
Regardless of the genre, his successes have been sweet music for the Mitchell Kernel wrestling program this season, as Clark has a record of 31-3 and ranked No. 4 in the most recent Dakota Grappler rankings for Class A 285-pound wrestlers.
As of Feb. 6, Clark was the Kernel leader in wins (31), team points (184) and pins (20) on the season.
"He's on a mission this year to be at the top of that podium and he's doing everything he can to get there," Mitchell coach Baker Haar said. "He's made huge improvements in technique from last year, and you can tell he's stronger than last year. He's just been doing a great job in so many ways, in working in the room, leading the team, being a good teammate and just putting together a really good season."
A Kernel junior, Clark said he had a hard summer of lifting, getting his deadlift to 530 pounds, his bench press max to 315 pounds and his squat max to 455 pounds.
"I just worked really hard, lifted a lot and shed off a couple of pounds," Clark said. "The losses fueled me after last season and it really took a toll on me."
Clark had a strong January, with tournament titles at the Kernels' Jerry Opbroek Invitational and the River City Rumble in Chamberlain in back-to-back weeks. Clark also said he's gotten more serious about watching film of past matches and potential opponents as well.
"I know all of these are small steps to the state tournament," he said. "That's what we're building toward. I know a lot of these guys I'm facing during the season, I'll face them again either at regions or at state."
Clark, who has been wrestling in varsity matches since he was in seventh grade, has qualified for the last two Class A state tournaments and medaled in both of them. He was a fourth-place finisher at the state meet in 2025 at 285 pounds, finishing with a 32-10 record. He took fourth in 2024, as well, finishing 36-14 as a freshman. Clark was an all-Eastern South Dakota Conference team pick in 2025.
That past experience will only be beneficial going forward, Haar said.
"He knows how to gameplan and he's doing a really good job of putting together the pieces of a match now, instead of just going out and wrestling," Haar said. "And that comes with maturity and experience."
Clark, who stands at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, is also a potential college football recruit, playing tackle on both sides of the line of scrimmage. He has gained interest from FCS schools North Dakota State and South Dakota, plus Division II and NAIA schools in the area.
"The hard work is paying off, so I'm just staying with it and I've made a lot of progress with the mental side of wrestling," Clark said. "I'm going to keep trying to put the two together and try to keep building."