Photo by: Sam Janicki
Turning iron into gold: Shane Ruhnke's journey to an NCAA Championship
3/14/2019 8:30:00 AM | Wrestling, Features
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – "Go pour iron." That was the last bit of advice that Millersville head coach Kerry Regner shared with Shane Ruhnke as the 165-pound Marauder ran out of the tunnel at the NCAA Division II Championships for the biggest and most important match of his life.
To most, the phrase "go pour iron," sounds like a nonsensical pep talk. But for Ruhnke, the first Marauder wrestler to win a national championship since 1980, pouring iron refers to his summer job in an iron refinery. There, Ruhnke pours liquid iron heated to 2,450 degrees into molds. On the mat, Ruhnke used the high-intensity heat referenced by Regner to drive him to became the most dominant wrestler at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
While pouring iron into molds, Ruhnke wears a heavy, flame-proof suit for eight hours straight over the hot summer days in a non-air-conditioned factory. After clocking out, Ruhnke went right to the weight room. It is a job few are willing to do. And to follow that work day with a workout in the gym and weight room requires a work ethic few can match. From grueling summer days in the iron refinery to his work on the mat, the work paid off. Ruhnke was awarded the Most Dominant Wrestler of the Year in NCAA Division II and also the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament.
"You hear me say 'pour Iron' with this guy," said head coach Kerry Regner. "That job is hard, not many people are able to do it, so wrestle at a level or temperature that other people are not willing to. So if you are going at a temperature of 2,450 degrees, how many opponents are willing to go that far?"
"It is just super difficult," said Ruhnke of his summer job. "It is something to overcome and once you do that and see those people dropping and can't do it, they quit. Being able to do things that people can't do is very fulfillment."
Ruhnke certainly attacks opponents on the mat with that same intensity. Of his 97 career wins, he totaled 39 falls. His opponents couldn't keep up. He pinned his way to the championship match, and with the national championship on the line, he forced a disqualification when his opponent was called for stalling and fleeing the mat five times.
"Wrestling is a battle," said Ruhnke. "There are definitely some spots that you think 'I don't know' and doubt. 'I'm tired and can't do anymore' but then I just think having those life experiences, I can push a little harder than the guy I am wrestling against and I can go a little further than him."
Ruhnke's work isn't contained to the the iron refinery and wrestling room. After a promising freshman season, Ruhnke's grades slipped and he was ineligible, missing an entire season. Ruhnke was fine with being an athlete but admits that the student-athlete combination didn't come as easy. Ruhnke had trouble with his time management skills early in his career, and his ineligibility was a wake-up moment that helped him mature and reset his priorities.
"It was a lot of growing up to do," said Ruhnke. "I was not taking care of my stuff. I was not taking responsibility for myself and being accountable for my actions. That was a big part of that change. There have been a lot of ups and downs but I think I have come out of it more of a man than I was when I came in. It was a lot of growing up experiences going to Millersville, and I am very grateful for all of those experiences both good and bad."
"It is a blueprint for younger guys looking for similar success as Shane," said Regner. "Everyone on the team is and student-athlete wants to be an All-American. That is the pinnacle of the sport: All-American and national champion. Here is a guy who did not do it and now has done it. He can speak in multi-faceted way of how you do it and don't do it. If you simplify your training and your life, that is how you get things done. Shane is a simple guy. He trains really hard, goes to work, goes to school, goes to practice, and that's it. He works as hard as he can and that's it."
Ruhnke's career accomplishments put him with the elite in program history. Ruhnke concluded his wrestling career at Millersville with a total of 97 wins--eighth in program history. Over his final two seasons, he lost just 12 matches. He closed his career on an 11-match winning streak, winning eight of those matches by fall.
After earning All-America honors with a sixth-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships, Ruhnke's goal was to be a national champion. Ruhnke began the season ranked No. 4 in the preseason NWCA poll and jumped up to No. 3, holding that spot until the NCAA Championships, where he was selected as the No. 1 seed. He lived up to that billing and delivered.
Regner came to Millersville prior to Ruhnke's 2018 season, and helped Ruhnke to back-to-back 27-win seasons. With Ruhnke at the fore, Regner started a resurgence that included five PSAC Championships placewinners, two All-Americans (for the first time since 1980) and Millersville's first Rupp Cup win over Franklin & Marshall since 2010.
"[Kerry] has helped me tremendously in many ways," said Ruhnke. "Just having him in my corner believing in me is a big confidence booster. Having a coach with confidence in my abilities is a big thing for me."
In 2019, Ruhnke finished with the highest winning percentage in a single season (.900). Ruhnke surpassed Jerry McCoy (1996), who went 31-4 record. He became Millersville's first two-time All-American and the first national champ since newly-inducted Millersville hall of famer Don Wagner accomplished the feat 39 years ago. Ruhnke and Wagner are the only Marauders to win a national title, a PSAC title, a "Shorty" Hitchcock Classic crown and be a two-time All-American.
Hard work means everything to Ruhnke, and the fire with which he approaches his day-to-day has helped re-ignite the Millersville wrestling program.
"He joins elite company being a national champion, a PSAC Champion, PSAC Outstanding Wrestler," said Regner. "But what is not etched in stone is who he is in the day-in-and-day out in the wrestling room. That is not told through record books but through stories from his brothers and teammates. So the type of legacy he leaves would be a legacy of showing how to get guys over the hump, how to overcome obstacles--show guys if you work your butt off and only care about how hard you work and nothing else, the sky is the limit. His legacy as a teammate will be much bigger to me, because in my two years here he has been a terror in the weight room and wrestling room. Those legacies will just grow of how much he dominated. I think those qualities are greater feats than being an All-American or national champ or PSAC Champion. His legacy in the wrestling and weight room are much greater and far more important to the program in my mind."
FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS
Be the first to know what's going on with the Marauders -- Follow @VilleMarauders on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Millersville Athletics on Facebook, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To support the Marauders, join the Black & Gold Club.
To most, the phrase "go pour iron," sounds like a nonsensical pep talk. But for Ruhnke, the first Marauder wrestler to win a national championship since 1980, pouring iron refers to his summer job in an iron refinery. There, Ruhnke pours liquid iron heated to 2,450 degrees into molds. On the mat, Ruhnke used the high-intensity heat referenced by Regner to drive him to became the most dominant wrestler at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
While pouring iron into molds, Ruhnke wears a heavy, flame-proof suit for eight hours straight over the hot summer days in a non-air-conditioned factory. After clocking out, Ruhnke went right to the weight room. It is a job few are willing to do. And to follow that work day with a workout in the gym and weight room requires a work ethic few can match. From grueling summer days in the iron refinery to his work on the mat, the work paid off. Ruhnke was awarded the Most Dominant Wrestler of the Year in NCAA Division II and also the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament.
"You hear me say 'pour Iron' with this guy," said head coach Kerry Regner. "That job is hard, not many people are able to do it, so wrestle at a level or temperature that other people are not willing to. So if you are going at a temperature of 2,450 degrees, how many opponents are willing to go that far?"
"It is just super difficult," said Ruhnke of his summer job. "It is something to overcome and once you do that and see those people dropping and can't do it, they quit. Being able to do things that people can't do is very fulfillment."Ruhnke certainly attacks opponents on the mat with that same intensity. Of his 97 career wins, he totaled 39 falls. His opponents couldn't keep up. He pinned his way to the championship match, and with the national championship on the line, he forced a disqualification when his opponent was called for stalling and fleeing the mat five times.
"Wrestling is a battle," said Ruhnke. "There are definitely some spots that you think 'I don't know' and doubt. 'I'm tired and can't do anymore' but then I just think having those life experiences, I can push a little harder than the guy I am wrestling against and I can go a little further than him."
Ruhnke's work isn't contained to the the iron refinery and wrestling room. After a promising freshman season, Ruhnke's grades slipped and he was ineligible, missing an entire season. Ruhnke was fine with being an athlete but admits that the student-athlete combination didn't come as easy. Ruhnke had trouble with his time management skills early in his career, and his ineligibility was a wake-up moment that helped him mature and reset his priorities.
"It was a lot of growing up to do," said Ruhnke. "I was not taking care of my stuff. I was not taking responsibility for myself and being accountable for my actions. That was a big part of that change. There have been a lot of ups and downs but I think I have come out of it more of a man than I was when I came in. It was a lot of growing up experiences going to Millersville, and I am very grateful for all of those experiences both good and bad."
"It is a blueprint for younger guys looking for similar success as Shane," said Regner. "Everyone on the team is and student-athlete wants to be an All-American. That is the pinnacle of the sport: All-American and national champion. Here is a guy who did not do it and now has done it. He can speak in multi-faceted way of how you do it and don't do it. If you simplify your training and your life, that is how you get things done. Shane is a simple guy. He trains really hard, goes to work, goes to school, goes to practice, and that's it. He works as hard as he can and that's it."
Ruhnke's career accomplishments put him with the elite in program history. Ruhnke concluded his wrestling career at Millersville with a total of 97 wins--eighth in program history. Over his final two seasons, he lost just 12 matches. He closed his career on an 11-match winning streak, winning eight of those matches by fall.
After earning All-America honors with a sixth-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships, Ruhnke's goal was to be a national champion. Ruhnke began the season ranked No. 4 in the preseason NWCA poll and jumped up to No. 3, holding that spot until the NCAA Championships, where he was selected as the No. 1 seed. He lived up to that billing and delivered.
Regner came to Millersville prior to Ruhnke's 2018 season, and helped Ruhnke to back-to-back 27-win seasons. With Ruhnke at the fore, Regner started a resurgence that included five PSAC Championships placewinners, two All-Americans (for the first time since 1980) and Millersville's first Rupp Cup win over Franklin & Marshall since 2010.
"[Kerry] has helped me tremendously in many ways," said Ruhnke. "Just having him in my corner believing in me is a big confidence booster. Having a coach with confidence in my abilities is a big thing for me."
In 2019, Ruhnke finished with the highest winning percentage in a single season (.900). Ruhnke surpassed Jerry McCoy (1996), who went 31-4 record. He became Millersville's first two-time All-American and the first national champ since newly-inducted Millersville hall of famer Don Wagner accomplished the feat 39 years ago. Ruhnke and Wagner are the only Marauders to win a national title, a PSAC title, a "Shorty" Hitchcock Classic crown and be a two-time All-American. Hard work means everything to Ruhnke, and the fire with which he approaches his day-to-day has helped re-ignite the Millersville wrestling program.
"He joins elite company being a national champion, a PSAC Champion, PSAC Outstanding Wrestler," said Regner. "But what is not etched in stone is who he is in the day-in-and-day out in the wrestling room. That is not told through record books but through stories from his brothers and teammates. So the type of legacy he leaves would be a legacy of showing how to get guys over the hump, how to overcome obstacles--show guys if you work your butt off and only care about how hard you work and nothing else, the sky is the limit. His legacy as a teammate will be much bigger to me, because in my two years here he has been a terror in the weight room and wrestling room. Those legacies will just grow of how much he dominated. I think those qualities are greater feats than being an All-American or national champ or PSAC Champion. His legacy in the wrestling and weight room are much greater and far more important to the program in my mind."
FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS
Be the first to know what's going on with the Marauders -- Follow @VilleMarauders on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Millersville Athletics on Facebook, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To support the Marauders, join the Black & Gold Club.
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