Ready to report: Tristan Wirfs
It's been a remarkable four years for Tristan Wirfs. It's been an even more amazing senior year for the in-state standout, who was a US Army All American in football, state wrestling champ, and he just won the shot and discus at the Drake Relays. He looks back his high school career, the recruiting process, and looks ahead to his future at Iowa.
Q: You had quite a weekend at the Drake Relays with a pair of titles.
WIRFS: Yeah, it was a good weekend. I had good throws. The competition at Drake is very different from any other meet. I got to throw with Coy (Kirkpatrick) and Levi (Duwa) and we pushed each other along with our throws. It was pretty awesome.
Q: How do you balance all the sports you have done at the high school level and how much of a challenge is that for you?
WIRFS: It hasn’t really been that bad. Wrestling was tough because I had to cut the weight to be able to wrestle, but other than that it’s not too difficult. I’m putting that weight back on now. I think I look little different than I did during football season. I slimmed down for wrestling and now I am getting my weight back up and doing it the right way. The challenge is with track to get it back up. I’ve really kind of done this all four years of high school, so I’m comfortable with what I have to do.
Q: What’s your weight right now?
WIRFS: I weighed myself yesterday morning and I was at 307. I am getting it back and I think I’m where I need to be now. I don’t want to get too heavy going into summer workouts next month.
Q: Coach Doyle sends all of the incoming recruits a workout. Have you been able to do that with your schedule?
WIRFS: Yeah, for the first six or seven weeks I was hitting it hard and getting my strength up to where it will need to be, but I tapered off the week before Drake. I did a light lift on Monday and then didn’t lift the rest of the week so I could be as fresh as possible. This week is a little light for me because we have our conference meet. Then next week I will go hard with the lifts and then after that we have districts and state, so I will go light again. It’s a tough workout and it pushes you from a conditioning standpoint. You are doing it by yourself, so you have to push yourself when you do them.
Q: You have had a really magical senior year with the Army game selection for football, wrestling state title, and now your success in the field events. How important is it to cap it off with a pair of state titles?
WIRFS: Two more state titles would be amazing. I still have to come to every meet ready to compete. To get those last two would be a great ending for me. A football state title this year would have been nice too, but the people around me that have been pushing me to this level have been great.
Q: I have to think you have some mixed emotions right now. High school has been great and I know you enjoy it, but you are also excited for the next chapter at Iowa and want to get going with that as well. What are your emotions going into this final stretch of high school?
WIRFS: I would say it’s bittersweet. The support I have gotten from teammates, teachers, coaches, my family and the community the past four years has been great. I am really going to miss all of the guys I grew up competing against, not just at Mt. Vernon, but the surrounding communities as well. You build relationships with all those guys and see them every day. I am really excited to get to Iowa to start the next chapter at Iowa, but right now I want to finish this up strong and get on to Iowa.
Q: Speaking of the next chapter, this group of recruits seems to have developed a strong bond. We saw all of you hanging out together at the spring game. You guys are all friends and have your texting group where you all keep in touch. How strong is that bond with this class?
WIRFS: I would say it’s a really strong bond. We have the group text and while we don’t see each other every day, we talk every day. We know what’s going on with each other all the time. Then when we meet up at the spring game, myself, Coy, and Levi at Drake or with Jacob Coons if we have meet against Solon, we just hang out and talk. I have grown up with Jacob Coons. We played baseball against each other when we were younger and then played football against each other, so we have always been close. Coy and Levi and I hang out together a lot. Coy and I have gotten really close and we will be roommates at Iowa. We are so much alike, it’s really crazy.
Q: Who is the best guy in the text group? Who’s the guy that gets after people in there?
WIRFS: We crack jokes all the time. A.J. (Epenesa) is probably the funniest guy. He cracks on people every once in a while. It’s all fun and games with us.
Q: What are your goals this summer at Iowa?
WIRFS: The first workout is right after we move in. We move in on June 10th and the first workout is the next morning. We just want to hit the weights hard all summer and do some football workouts as a group. I am just looking forward to getting in there, competing, and working hard every day.
Q: Have they told you what number you will wear?
WIRFS: I will be wearing #74. I am happy with that. My favorite moving growing up was The Blind Side, so I wanted to wear #74. When I was a sophomore, we had a kid on our team that was wearing 74, so I got 79 and I liked that. I was happy to get 74, it’s kind of my dream number.
Q: Looking back at your recruiting process, there was really no drama to it. How do you reflect back on it?
WIRFS: Yeah, I got the Iowa and Iowa State offers in the summer and took visits to both schools and then went to Michigan State during my junior year. I committed two weeks after that visit to Iowa. I kind of just made up my mind at that point. I knew I wanted to go to Iowa, but I wanted to take that visit and see if there was something out there that could impress me and just make sure. I knew deep down Iowa was the place for me and after going to Michigan State, I was 100% that Iowa was where I wanted to be. Its home to me and I committed. Then things died off and this year it was nothing as far as recruiting.
Q: You were recruited to Iowa by Coach Morgan and Brian Ferentz. Now there’s a new position coach on the offensive line in Tim Polasek. Thoughts on meeting him and the relationship you have with him?
WIRFS: I met him probably three or four weeks ago at a practice. I was excited to meet him and in talking with him I figured out right away that he’s an awesome guy. I got to see him work in practice and he’s very intense and I really like that a lot. He gets the players fired up in practice. He’s going to coach the players and I know he’s not your friend in that setting, but in talking to him before practice, he’s a really nice guy.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about being a Hawkeye?
WIRFS: I would say probably taking the first run out of the tunnel with the guys in my class. To see where we have all come from in high school to get to Iowa and to make that first run out of the tunnel is going to be incredible. We will have summer camp and fall camp and to get to experience that for the first time is what I am looking forward to this fall.