Tristyn Ulloa Is Just Getting Started

A few months after finishing his freshman season one victory short of the podium at the UIL State Championships, Tristyn Ulloa found himself wrestling for something much bigger.

The Johnson High School sophomore earned the opportunity to represent Team USA at the U15 Pan American Championships in Mexico City.

Then he came home a champion.

“Representing Team USA was a surreal experience,” Ulloa said. “I honestly never thought I’d be able to get that opportunity and I'm so blessed to have gotten it.”

Winning a Pan American championship is a major accomplishment at any point in a wrestler's career. For Ulloa, it came before he had even started his sophomore year of high school.

The title capped an impressive spring and summer that also included winning the U.S. Open in Greco-Roman wrestling. More importantly, those experiences helped Ulloa answer a question he had been asking himself for some time.

Could he truly compete with the best wrestlers in the country?

“I used to struggle with the fact that I have kept the scores close, but I've never managed to win against the nation's top contenders,” Ulloa said. “So I didn’t know where I stacked up against those kinds of wrestlers.”

Winning the U.S. Open changed that.

“After winning is when I realized I belong there and I can, in fact, compete with the best of the best.”

That confidence carried into his opportunity with Team USA, where Ulloa took another major step forward by winning an international title.

Now, he returns to Johnson High School as a returning regional champion, state qualifier, U.S. Open champion and Pan American champion.

And he is still only a sophomore.

Growing Up on the Mat

Although Ulloa is beginning to gain recognition across Texas, wrestling is nothing new to him.

Born in Oklahoma, Ulloa moved to San Antonio nearly five years ago. He began wrestling when he was only three or four years old, initially agreeing to give the sport a try because of a small misunderstanding.

“I actually remember my mom asking me if I wanted to do it and I said yes because I thought it was the UFC,” Ulloa said.

His older brother Kai was already wrestling, so Ulloa had essentially grown up around the mat.

Kai would eventually become one of his biggest influences.

“I really wanted to be like my older brother,” Ulloa said. “He was always super smart and made everything look so effortless no matter the scenario.”

Ulloa still studies his brother's wrestling today, particularly the way Kai creates opportunities rather than forcing them.

“When I’m wrestling with him or when I watch his previous matches, I tend to always look for the different ways he lures his opponents in,” Ulloa said. “He’s a really sly wrestler, so he will almost always catch you in something, and that's something I want to get better at in the future.”

Kai's scrambling ability has also given Ulloa someone close to home who can expose him to positions and situations he wants to improve.

But what initially began as something Ulloa did alongside his brother eventually became his own passion.

“As to what made me stick with it, it was the grind and relationships I made along the way,” Ulloa said. “I've met so many new people and now a lot more opportunities are starting to open up.”

Few opportunities have been bigger than the ones Ulloa earned this offseason.

From One Match Short to an International Champion

Ulloa's offseason success followed an outstanding freshman year at Johnson.

He won a regional championship and qualified for the UIL State Championships in his first high school season. At state, Ulloa advanced to within one victory of earning a spot on the podium.

He came close.

But close wasn't what he wanted.

“It honestly still lights a fire under me that I got so close but came out with nothing,” Ulloa said.

Instead of simply viewing the result as a disappointment, Ulloa has spent time examining exactly what prevented him from taking the next step.

“Looking back on it, it was definitely little things that I messed up on,” Ulloa said. “At the time I was nowhere near aggressive enough in that match, which definitely played a factor. I was also hesitant with my shots, and those two factors don’t really work well with each other.”

The experience gave him specific areas to attack during the offseason.

“My opponent was a super smart wrestler, so next time I'm up against someone like that I want to be more unpredictable,” Ulloa said. “That is why I’ve been working on my scrambling and lots of other setups to shots.”

That work quickly began producing results.

Ulloa won the U.S. Open in Greco and followed it by earning his opportunity to represent the United States at the U15 Pan American Championships.

A freshman season that ended one match short of a state medal was followed only months later by Ulloa standing atop an international podium.

That contrast represents one of wrestling's most important lessons: where a wrestler finishes one tournament does not have to determine where that wrestler is headed.

For Ulloa, the answer has been to keep working.

Finding the Right Mindset

There is another part of Ulloa's approach that may be just as important as his technique.

He has learned when to enjoy the wrestling room and when it is time to embrace the difficult parts of training.

“I’d say when I'm in the mat room I know the sweet spot between having fun and working hard,” Ulloa said. “But there are also times where having fun isn’t one of the options.”

Those are the workouts when Ulloa believes wrestlers have to accept what is coming.

“You know the workout is going to suck, but you have to just embrace it and know that it will make you better.”

At the same time, Ulloa tries not to make competition bigger than it needs to be.

His best wrestling often comes when he trusts his preparation instead of worrying about the result.

“I try to not care too much about the match,” Ulloa said. “I know that I’ve put in the work to get where I am and I'm confident in that work that I’ve put in. So the less I worry about winning or losing, the better I perform.”

That mentality will become increasingly important this season.

Ulloa is no longer an unknown freshman entering high school competition for the first time. His success has established him as one of the young wrestlers to watch in Texas.

He isn't interested in letting those expectations dictate his approach.

“Going into this season, my focus will be on improving 1% better every day and not worry so much about the expectations of others,” Ulloa said. “I want to go into this season with a level head believing that I'm just as good as anyone else and anything could happen.”

Built by the People Around Him

For everything Ulloa has accomplished individually, he is quick to point toward the people who have helped him reach this level.

Since moving to Texas, NB Elite Wrestling Club has played a major role in that development.

Ulloa credits Coach Steve with helping him correct some of the small technical issues that can make a significant difference at higher levels of competition.

“Coming into Texas I was plateauing as most coaches didn't fix the little details, so I was developing bad habits,” Ulloa said. “But Coach Steve doesn’t care who you are — he WILL speak his mind. It's honestly funny and is one of my favorite traits about him.”

Coach Jay has provided something different but equally important.

“Coach Jay has always believed I would do something big and has been one of my biggest supporters ever since I moved down here,” Ulloa said.

At Johnson, Ulloa credits Coach Miller and Coach Adair with making him feel like part of the program before he ever officially became a high school wrestler.

“Since seventh-grade Johnson Wrestling Camp they made me feel so welcome to the team,” Ulloa said. “I’m not a very social kid, so having their support and them helping me connect with my high school team has been amazing.”

They have also helped develop one of the qualities Ulloa believes separates Johnson wrestlers.

Conditioning.

“They put us through some hard workouts,” Ulloa said. “Our gas tank is almost bottomless thanks to what they put us through both preseason and during season.”

Then there are Ulloa's training partners at NB Elite.

He mentioned Bryce, Grant, Micah, Grady, Brady, Shawn, Jax and Cruz among the wrestlers who have influenced his development.

And Ulloa can explain exactly what each one brings to the room.

Bryce and Grant have helped him improve his setups. Shawn has sharpened his misdirection. Wrestling with Jax forces Ulloa to become more creative when finding ways into his offense. Cruz and Micah have helped develop his hand fighting, while Brady challenges him to stay active against a smaller, quicker wrestler. Grady has worked with Ulloa on his no-tie setups.

“They always find a way to push me past my limits and teach me the little things that I need to change,” Ulloa said. “It's amazing to have had partners like these.”

It is an example of what a strong wrestling room can provide.

One athlete may eventually stand alone on the podium, but getting there often requires an entire room full of people willing to push one another.

Why Wrestling?

With the difficult practices, weight management, travel, pressure and countless hours of training that come with the sport, wrestlers are sometimes asked why they continue doing it.

Ulloa has a simple answer.

“I wrestle because I think it's fun and exciting,” he said.

For Ulloa, the wrestling room has also become a place he can rely on regardless of what else is happening.

“Even if I’m having a bad day or something isn’t going my way, I know I'll always have the opportunity to wrestle that day,” Ulloa said. “So if I haven't found something good in my day, I know I'll be able to look forward to having a good time on that mat.”

He also believes wrestling develops a mentality that is difficult to replicate elsewhere.

“The daily grind of a serious wrestler is something that has been loudly whispered across every facet of social media,” Ulloa said. “It’s our mentality and what separates us from other athletes that seems to draw people in.”

Wrestlers willingly return to workouts they know are going to be difficult.

Ulloa jokingly calls it “the suck.”

“No matter what else happens in my life, it will never compare to ‘the suck’ that we are all so addicted to — wrestling — but we love every second of it.”

It is that combination — embracing the grind without forgetting to enjoy the sport — that Ulloa hopes younger wrestlers recognize when they watch him.

“I hope when they see me wrestle they can see that this sport isn’t just about the grind or having to feel that burn when out there,” Ulloa said. “But that it can be something you're able to fall in love with, something that you have the privilege to do.”

Away from the mat, he hopes the message is equally simple.

“When they see me off the mat I hope they get the sense that not everything has to be serious all the time and it's okay to just be yourself and let things fly.”

Chasing Johnson History

Ulloa's sophomore season will begin with substantially different expectations than his freshman year.

He has already been to the state tournament.

He has already won a regional championship.

And now he knows what it feels like to compete — and win — while wearing Team USA across his chest.

His goals for the next three seasons at Johnson reflect that growing confidence.

“I hope going into these next few years I can be Johnson's first wrestling state champ,” Ulloa said.

But he doesn't want his legacy at Johnson to be limited to his own accomplishments.

As a captain, Ulloa wants to help elevate the entire program.

“I want to see Jag wrestling be in the top ten or even top five at state in the years to come,” Ulloa said.

There is a long way to go before any of those goals are decided.

That might be the most exciting part.

Ulloa is still at the beginning of his high school career, and wrestling has already taken him from a mat in Oklahoma to San Antonio, from the UIL State Championships to representing the United States in Mexico.

His freshman season showed him how close he was to reaching the podium in Texas.

His offseason showed him something else.

He belongs with the best.

Now Ulloa gets three more high school seasons to find out just how far he can take it.

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