Rudy Lopez has gone from being retired to competing for a national championship in less than a year.

The Northern State grad student came to Aberdeen last summer after competing for Northern Colorado for four years. He initially thought he was done wrestling, but got the itch and contacted one of his former teammates, Damen Pape, who transferred to Northern last year.

“It was kind of a weird transition. At the time, I finished my college career at Northern Colorado and I thought I was done at the time and I retired,” said Lopez. “Right when school’s about to start, I got that itch again and I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned, so then I wanted to wrestle again.”

Pape helped Lopez get to Northern, after not knowing that Northern was a place to begin with.

“Damen asked the coaches if they were interested and they said they were so that’s how I got the dice rolling there. I didn’t really know anything about Northern really, until I got here,” said Lopez. “I didn’t know this was a town or anything. When I first got to campus and school and met the coaches, all the teammates, I immediately knew this is the place to be.”

The Erie, Colo. native’s wrestling journey began back when he was 4 when he first started wrestling because of his dad.

“I was introduced to wrestling when I was around 4-years-old. And at first, I started wrestling because my dad was a wrestler growing up,” said Lopez. “At first, I hated it, so I actually quit until I was 6-years-old. And then one day out of the blue, I just decided I wanted to wrestle again. And since then, I’ve been wrestling every day.”

Since then, his father has been his number one supporter, even from the stands.

“He’s always been my biggest supporter. Growing up, he was my coach and we used to always roll around when I was a kid. He showed me techniques here and there,” said Lopez. “But as I got older, he kind of stepped out of that role and let my coaches be more so the main coach and who I listen to. But he always has good insight and is always there and supporting me. He never misses any of my matches.”

His first dual in Wachs Arena was a memorable one as the home crowd packed the stands creating a live environment.

“I was actually really surprised with how packed it was and everything just because I wrestled at Northern Colorado and our home duals got really packed, too. So going to Northern, I didn’t expect it to be packed and man, it really was,” said Lopez. “We had all the fans. Everyone, all the locals. Any home dual, away dual, they’re always just the best fans and they’re the loudest. The atmosphere was so awesome. You got people that genuinely care about you in public, so yeah, it’s awesome.”

Lopez wrestled the whole season at 149 pounds for the Wolves after bouncing between 141 and 149 at Northern Colorado. The grad student posted a 19-4 record wrestling at a comfortable weight.

“Here at Northern, I feel like I got my weight cut down. I’ve mastered how to do it now and it’s not even an issue at this point,” Lopez said. “When I was done wrestling, I was weighing 190 in the summer, so that cut to get back down was definitely harder, but I’ve done it before.”

Last weekend, the Lopez went into the Super Region V tournament as the fourth seed, and came out on top putting away three ranked opponents on the way to winning a championship.

“I always knew, like I visualized it. I always believed that I could hang with the best guys in the country. I always knew that when the opportunity comes, I’m gonna make the most of it and that’s just how I was raised,” said Lopez. “Just going into the fire and believing my training and the time I put into the sport. … I brought it when it counted, and that’s just how I’m going to continue to move forward.”

Moving forward, Lopez will compete just down I-29 in Sioux Falls in the national tournament that will take place on Friday and Saturday. With one last tournament ahead of him, Lopez will look to give it his all.

“I’m really excited. This is what we’ve prepared for our whole lives. This is just another wrestling tournament for me, but I’m gonna give it my all this last go so I’m really excited,” said Lopez. “I’m just excited to go, just compete, and enjoy my last go, my last tournament.”

Lopez will be joined by teammates Sloan Johannsen and Griffin Lundeen in Sioux Falls who are wrestling in the 125 and 157-pound weight classes, respectively. The three hope to have a large following wrestling so close to Aberdeen.

“I’m really excited, just for the location of where it’s at and just all the fans pulling up and the teammates that are coming along with me, too. Griffin Lundeen and Sloan Johannsen too, they also qualified,” Lopez said. “ It’s gonna be really exciting to go out there and compete, and just let it show. Our hard work through the years show on that night and just keep controlling what we can.”

As the grad student looks back on his collegiate career, he’ll always remember his first time stepping on a collegiate mat and the little memories outside of the mat.

“Wrestling in college for the first time was pretty fun, and meeting all my old roommates and teammates. Just being a part of a family and growing connections I would say is one of my favorite things,” said Lopez. “Another favorite thing of mine was honestly the small moments, like the traveling, the locker room talk, just the jokes we have with the guys. All of that, those small moments that I’m gonna miss forever.”

As he wraps up his wrestling career, he’ll look to splurge on food that he hasn’t really been able to eat on bus rides back to Aberdeen.

“Probably something very unhealthy. Like a cheeseburger, some fries, ice cream, chocolate milk. Just anything I could think of,” said Lopez. “I’m just going to run into a gas station probably and just get a bunch of junk food and chips and everything.”