Lakewood Ranch High wrestler hopes to earn a state title his senior year

It was over in a flash. 

Lakewood Ranch High wrestler Nate Smith, then a junior, found himself in the school's Class 3A regional finals match in the 285 pound division on Feb. 25. Smith (40-8) was taking on Palmetto Ridge High senior Austin Foye (41-3). 

The two wrestlers were comparably skilled, but 57 seconds into their match, Smith suffered an injury to his ring finger. It would later be diagnosed as a slight compound fracture, requiring stitches and glue to fix. Smith was forced to drop the match — and miss the state tournament, held a week later in Kissimmee. 

"It hurt," Smith said. "To know that I was a week away from competing for a title, it was hard, mentally. It showed me how fast things can be taken from you."

Smith, now a rising senior, said he's determined to make the most of his final season of high school wrestling, and is hopeful to continue in college upon graduation. To that end, Smith — alongside his Mustangs teammates — has been putting in extra work this summer against some difficult opponents. 

Lakewood Ranch High took a trip to Ohio State University for some intense workouts July 9-13. It was Smith's second time going to a Buckeyes camp. Smith said the 2022 camp taught him how to be a real wrestler, as opposed to simply being someone big and strong. But he also remembers struggling when going against the Buckeyes' best. It has been on Smith's mind a lot, in fact. He was determined to make the 2023 camp different. 

Courtesy photo

"I got ate up last year," Smith said. "They beat me up good. I remember waking up super sore every day. I knew that if I wanted to compete with them, I'd have to have a great season and get better and then come back and show them." 

The 2023 camp didn't start with one-on-one work each day. First, the wrestlers went for a mile-and-a-half run from the athletic dorms, where the wrestlers stayed, to the school's football stadium. Once there, Smith said, the wrestlers did eight laps around the football field, then six 100-yard sprints, then six 50-yard sprints. Once done, the wrestlers ran back to the dorms — where they had a few hours to recover before two afternoon sessions on the wrestling mats.

Solid lessons

It was in those afternoon sessions that Smith showed everyone how much he had learned in the last 12 months. Smith only started wrestling as a sophomore, on the advice of wrestling Coach Pat Ancil, after a background in football.

For Smith, last offseason, including the OSU camp, was about learning technique. Smith said he now feels comfortable with the details of wrestling and the flow of a match, going from one move to the next without having to think about what to do. That comfort level showed itself at the 2023 camp: Smith said that instead of getting beaten consistently like in 2022, he was able to hold his own. 

Smith said the Buckeyes coaches would place each wrestler in a given situation that the wrestler would have to fight through, like needing to score a given amount of points, or having 10 seconds to get out of a hold.

Smith said these exercises were important training for scenarios the wrestlers will eventually experience in a live match. He said the coaches pushed the Lakewood Ranch students to their limits, which he appreciated. And as Smith promised to himself, he got revenge for being pushed around in 2022.

Smith wrestled well against Buckeyes rising senior Nicholas Boykin and rising sophomore Mike Misita. 

"With a little hunger and drive, you can do a lot of things," Smith said. 

Smith said one of his dreams is to wrestle for Ohio State. While he has yet to be recruited by the Buckeyes, Smith said Ohio State Coach Tom Ryan has been complimentary of his skills. Smith knows there is still more work to be done, as someone coming into the sport relatively late in his career. 

"If I want to be recruited to (NCAA) DI, I'm going to need a better mindset," Smith said. "I need to control my thought process when I wrestle. I can't be thinking about other stuff. I need to focus. And if I mess up, I need to turn my gears and figure out another move, because the first move wasn't working." 

Big senior season

A stellar senior season could be what Smith needs to reach the DI level of the sport, which is motivating him even further. It remains to be seen in which weight class Smith will wrestle in 2023-2024. Smith said he's currently at approximately 250 pounds, and he and his coaches are deciding between going back up to 285 pounds or cutting even more weight to reach the 215-pound division. Smith said he's open to either direction, though he believes staying at 285 would give him the advantage of knowing exactly how his body moves at that weight, giving him full control in every match.

Regardless of weight class, the only thing on Smith's mind on Nov. 6 — the first day of official wrestling practice per the Florida High School Athletic Association — will be winning a state title.

No Mustang has ever taken home a gold medal in the sport, and only two East County wrestlers, both Braden River Pirates, have done so overall — Brendan Bengtsson in 2018 at 285 pounds and Jesse Colas last season at 182 pounds. 

Smith is determined to give it his best shot in 2023. Now an experienced wrestler, Smith said his finger injury is behind him — and his best is still to come. 

"I'm going for it," Smith said. "I want to put my name out there. I want to be the first person from Lakewood Ranch to do it."