Small-school wrestler has big-time talent

At the age of 4, wrestling really wasn't about wrestling for Kyle Johnshoy.

He wasn't concerned with the purpose or outcome of a match. He spent most of his time talking to opponents. He was a typical kid dabbling in a new sport.

"I went to three tournaments and I didn't even win a match," Johnshoy said. "I was a lot stronger than everybody I wrestled, but I'd grab ahold of them and fall on my back and pin myself."

By the time he turned 9, Johnshoy began to realize he had a gift. It was no longer simply something to do. It was a passion.

Now a senior at Melba High, Johnshoy is the top-seeded wrestler at 125 pounds at the highly competitive Rollie Lane Invitational. He is the only 2A wrestler to earn a No. 1 seed in the 47-team tournament.

The invitational begins at 3 p.m. Friday at the Jacksons Indoor Track next to the Idaho Center in Nampa. Championship matches are tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, but wrestling begins as early as 9 a.m. with the first round of the 16-man bracket.

Though his father, Ron, is the head coach at Melba, Johnshoy said he didn't start the sport at the urging of his dad.

"When I started wrestling, it was because I wanted to," Kyle said. "It's always been something I've had a lot of fun doing. I really enjoy wrestling."

Ron wrestled in high school and qualified for nationals in college at Division II Northern Montana (now Montana State-Northern). He's been a head coach in Oregon and Idaho and has been at Melba for seven seasons.

Kyle - one of three children - is the oldest son and first to wrestle for his father. They share a special bond because of their love of wrestling, but neither feels pressure to perform based on the other's expectations.

That's not to say that emotions don't occasionally get in the way, especially over the course of four varsity seasons.

"It's rewarding, but it can be a little challenging at times, too," Ron said. "Wrestling is an emotional sport, there's highs and there's lows in it. Obviously, most of the experience has been real positive. I'm real proud of his efforts and how well he's done."

Kyle is the defending 2A state champion at 119 pounds. He's a three-time 2A District Three champion and won the 112-pound state championship as a freshman. As a sophomore, he took second at state at 119.

Over the summer, Kyle finished sixth at the Junior Greco-Roman Nationals in Fargo, N.D., earning All-American status at 119 pounds.

This season, he is 9-2 overall, with his only losses coming at a tournament in Nyssa, Ore., and the Bear Cat Invitational in Twin Falls.

This will be his first trip to Rollie Lane.

Father and son aren't going into Rollie with elevated expectations, however. It's a tough tournament against most of the top wrestlers in every classification in the state, plus schools from Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

"I just want to focus on wrestling my best," Kyle said. "The outcome will take care of itself, whatever that is."