CLEAR LAKE — When Ryan Leisure waved his arms in celebration after winning a state championship 12 months ago, there was one person inside Wells Fargo Arena who enjoyed the moment more than he did.

His dad.

Leisure and his dad, Tom, are wrestling junkies. Tom was a four-time placewinner in South Dakota but never tasted gold. His son did last season, and the journey to repeat and join rarified air in Clear Lake wrestling history begins today.

“He was real excited when I won it. He was jacked, pretty dang excited,” Leisure said. “My dad is probably the biggest reason I’m at where I’m at. He’s my best friend.”

Wrestling isn’t everything for the Leisures, but it provides a deep bond between father and son.

There have been more ups than down thus far in Ryan Leisure’s career. Entering today’s state tournament inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Leisure, a junior, is 127-6 in his brilliant three-year career.

But it’s those setbacks, most notably the loss in the state finals as a freshman, that continue to drive the top-ranked 138-pounder in Class 2A.

For months, Leisure had no idea where his runner-up medal from his freshman year was at.

Eventually, he found it, and before this week’s traditional state tournament kicks off, he put the silver medal side-by-side with his gold medal. He looked at some images that were another reminder of the thin line between gold and silver. One was an image of him getting pinned as a freshman. The other was seconds after he earned a state championship.

As soon as a knee injury he suffered in last season’s state title match healed, Leisure began working to repeat. Getting to the top was difficult. Staying atop the mountain is just as challenging.

“I know people are going to be gunning for the state title,” Leisure said. “You have to keep working hard, keep the tempo up. In a way, it’s kind of fun having people gunning for you. I like winning, I like competing against kids. They are going to come after me. I say, ‘Bring it.’ It’s going to be fun.”

Leisure is four wins in this tournament away from joining Joe Colon as the only two-time state champion in school history. He can also be the first three-time finalist by reaching championship Saturday night.

Leisure appreciates wrestling history, and he’s well aware of what it would mean to be in the same breath as Colon.

“To be next to him would be a big deal,” Leisure said.

In what will be coach Gary Weber’s swansong, the Lions have a realistic chance to have a pair of finalists or champions.

Aside from Leisure and his 43-1 mark, 106-pound freshman Eric Faught has a similar ceiling to the Clear Lake junior.

Like Leisure, Faught was seasoned when he arrived in the Clear Lake wrestling room. He’s unbeatedn in 32 matches and is ranked second at 106 pounds.

“It would be fun. It would be a good way to go out,” Weber said of wrapping a gold medal around one of his wrestlers to cap his career.

Weber said Faught has the same kind of thirst that could lead to similar success Leisure has found. The Lions may be short on numbers at this season’s state tournament. They aren’t lacking for star power.

“Both of those guys are 12-month-a-year guys,” Weber said.

If there is one thing Leisure has learned, it’s that things don’t always go according to script at the state meet. One year it did. One year it didn’t.

“There are going to be setbacks. You just have to keep pushing forward,” he said.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, March of 2016