Wrestling: Ballard grad Rachel Watters on the cusp of Senior world team

Rachel Watters stood on the south end of the Rochester Regional Sports Center last Saturday and took a deep breath. The Ballard alum was moments removed from adding another accolade to her still-growing list of wrestling accomplishments, but on this day, she couldn’t wait to take a break.

“I really haven’t had time to reflect,” Watters said. “But I’m definitely going to take a little bit of a break. Go back to Iowa, drink some Mountain Dew, let my mind rest. Then I’ll go back to Oklahoma and hit it hard again.”

It’s been a busy few months for the former Iowa prep girls’ wrestler. This past weekend, Watters won the 2018 world team trials challenge tournament at 72 kilograms (roughly 158 pounds), sweeping a best-of-three final over Hannah Gladden by scores of 11-1 and 10-3.

In doing so, Watters advanced to Final X, the last qualification leg to making the 2018 Senior women’s freestyle world team. She will face Erin Clodgo in State College, Pennsylvania, on June 16 in a best-of-three series for the right to represent the United States at the World Championships on Oct. 20-28.

“I think I can get there,” said Watters, who lost to Clodgo, 6-5, in the finals of the U.S. Open last month. “That match from the U.S. Open is going to help me. I went out wrestling my match then, and it was pretty close.”

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Saturday’s showing was Watters’ latest accomplishment in a year full of them.

In January, wrestling for Oklahoma City University, Watters picked off top-ranked Brittany Marshall of Wayland Baptist. She trailed Marshall 6-4 in the first period, then rallied in the second for the win, pushing her to the No. 1 ranking at 170 pounds.

In February, Watters finished third at the Women’s College Wrestling Association national tournament, her second All-American finish in as many years. A week after, she took third at the Klippan Lady Open in Sweden, one of the toughest women’s freestyle tournaments in the world. She followed that by making the U23 World Team in March, her fifth age-level world team.

Then came the most-recent run of success, where Watters took second at the U.S. Open in April and, this past weekend, gave herself the opportunity to wrestle Clodgo again. It’s been something of a whirlwind for her, but the success has helped inspire confidence.

“I’m just standing here thinking — you know, there’s Isaiah Martinez, there’s Kyven Gadson, and I’m here, too,” Watters said. “Why shouldn’t I be confident? I definitely work my hardest. I have some offense. I can shoot with confidence.

“I think that comes a lot with maturity, and just focusing on wrestling all year long. If you go out there confident, it’s a lot easier.”

Members of the national team have noticed. Terry Steiner, the U.S. women’s national team coach, has been impressed with Watters’ recent run of success, but added that she still has plenty of room to improve.

“It hasn’t been a smooth run for her,” Steiner said. “She’s had some ups and downs. But she’s staying the course, staying focused. She’s had some hard losses, but she’s bounced right back. She’s resilient, and that’s a real trademark of any champion.

“She’s just persistent. She keeps coming back and improving herself. Every time we see her on the mat, whether it’s in competition or practice, she’s a little bit better. She’s doing a good job of really focusing on her needs.”

It will take that kind of improvement if Watters is to beat Clodgo next month. Clodgo is a four-time U.S. Open champion who was on the world team in 2015. Watters led 3-0 in their matchup last month, then Clodgo stormed back to tie it 4-4 and ultimately win 6-5.

“It wasn’t too bad,” Clodgo said afterward. “All my years of experience, all my hard work and dedication, all of that still shows. That helped carry me through this competition.”

Watters is gaining that same experience with each competition, and Final X is no different. She’ll still compete internationally if she can’t get Clodgo in a best two-out-of-three format — the U23 World Championships are set for Nov. 12-18 in Bucharest, Romania.

But Watters’ ever-growing confidence has her believing a trip to the Senior World Championships is a possibility. But before she prepares, a trip home and some Mountain Dew is in order.

Maybe then, she’ll reflect on her successful past and look ahead to a bright future.

“Every two weeks, there’s been another tournament,” Watters said. “It’s been a lot for me recently. I’m definitely going to take time with my family and reflect a little bit. Maybe I’ll realize everything that I’ve done.”

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.