Cody Kluge - BVM Sports Journalist/Editor

Updated: July 01, 2020

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (BVM) — Andy Simaz is a recent graduate of Traverse City St. Francis High School. A multi-sport athlete, Simaz has been a star in wrestling, following his family’s elite history in the sport. Despite an ACL injury derailing his quest for back-to-back state championships, the 19-year-old continues to recover and will be taking his talents on the mat to the University of Iowa in the fall.

Simaz began with sports in second grade, specifically playing football, baseball and wrestling. However, he did not enjoy competing in the latter until sixth grade. It was at that point that Simaz began falling in love with the success he was having in the sport.

“I started to develop more and see my athletic ability help me win some matches,” Simaz said. “I also liked that you didn’t need to rely on anyone else. In wrestling, if you lose, that’s 100% on you. I fell in love with the feeling of winning as well and that’s what has always kept me in the sport.”

Simaz is just the latest in his family to not only gain a love for the sport, but excel at it. It starts with his father, Mike, who was a 1982 state champion in the 145-pound weight class at Lake Michigan Catholic High School and competed at Michigan State University. His uncle, Bill, also transferred to Lake Michigan Catholic and placed at state, while two of his other uncles, Joe and John, each wrestled at Eau Claire High School as well.

But the next generation has grown the family legacy even further. Four of Andy’s cousins have all had standout wrestling careers. The oldest is Eric, who won a state wrestling title his senior year of high school and wrestled collegiately at Central Michigan. Next is Cam, who won three state championships while in high school, and became a four-time All-American at Cornell University, where he won an NCAA national title at 197 pounds his senior year.

Younger cousins Taylor and Kyle were next in line, winning two state titles each in high school, both following in Cam’s footsteps to wrestle collegiately at Cornell. Needless to say, this family — which has a combined 12 state titles in Michigan — is as impressive as it gets on the wrestling mat, and Andy Simaz is happy that he can be a part of the family tradition.

“Knowing how good my family has been through the years has always given me a sense of confidence,” Andy said. “Ask anyone who has wrestled a Simaz in a practice room and they will most likely tell you that they are the hardest working person in the room. It’s a God given gift that we all possess and being competitive and hard working is our family culture. I know I have the ability to be as great as any of my cousins or uncles, I just have to work hard at it.”

At the same time as all the success, the wrestler credits everyone in his family for giving him constant support. One prime example was during his youth wrestling career, when Andy suffered two concussions just a week apart. Shortly after, he began to suffer from migraines which became continually worse, leading to constant head pain for nearly six months.

Andy, with the help of his mom, did everything he could to find a solution to the pain. After several doctor and hospital visits, the pain was chalked up to being the result of the concussion, hormones, and a family history of migraines. Gaining almost 70 pounds while on different medications that affected his diet and workout habits, Andy continued to have migraines through high school, affecting his school and wrestling practice attendance.

But when Andy turned 17, Aimovig was discovered – a once-a-month shot that blocks the nerve receptors for migraines. The medicine worked right away, and Simaz was finally able to live up to his full potential on and off the mat. But he realizes he may have never gotten better without his mother, and was inspired by the faith she continued to have throughout the tough process.

“My mom went to every length possible to cure my pain. She talked to numerous doctors and drove me to an uncountable amount of hospital visits, day and night,” Simaz said. “Her devotion to prayer and seeing how it worked sparked a need for prayer and religion in my life. If it weren’t for my mom I would not be the person I am today and the support from her throughout that struggle means the world to me.”

The wrestler also echoes similar sentiments about his dad, who has been his wrestling coach while at St. Francis. Teaching him from a young age, Mike has not only been a role model but also a friend to his son.

“Being coached by my dad made me a better wrestler and person than I could have hoped for,” the 19-year-old said. “Not only was he invested in my wrestling ability but he was also invested in every aspect of my life. He coached me from a young age to become a great wrestler but what I didn’t realize until now was that he coached me to be a respectful and courteous young man. Maybe more than anything, my dad is a friend, and to me, that’s a good thing.”

With a clean bill of health, Andy was poised for a special junior year on the wrestling mat. A dominant season led to a close win in the state finals for the wrestler, who finally won a state championship of his own in the 152-pound weight class at Ford Field to add to the family legacy.

“I was hit with so many emotions all at once,” Andy said about the victory. “I had relief, joy, excitement, but I was also the most tired I had ever been.”

Andy’s high school wrestling career would include a 120-25 record in which he was a three-time conference champion, two-time regional champion, district champion, and of course, state champion. But after his junior year, more adversity would occur, and Andy would never wrestle for St. Francis again. 

The 19-year-old was a multi-sport athlete while in high school, also playing football and competing in track and field. Andy had outstanding careers in both, making the state meet in hurdles as a junior while also previously competing in the long jump and pole vault. In football, he was a three-year varsity player who earned all-state honorable mention as a linebacker, and was voted defensive, co-offensive and team MVP.

But it was at the end of his final prep football season that things would take a turn for the worst. In the first round of the playoffs, Andy was hit in the knee while running in his second touchdown of the contest. The senior football player convinced himself it was just a stinger, and continued to play, even scoring another touchdown. But soon after, he would go down again after his knee buckled, and was done for the game.

As tough as they come, Andy would still play in the next two games with his injured knee, and would even participate in three weeks of wrestling practice to start the season. But with the pain still present after taking some time off, Andy decided it was time to get things checked out. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with a torn ACL.

The wrestler’s senior season was officially lost, and with an opportunity to win back-to-back state titles on the line, it was a devastating moment.

“At first I was pretty destroyed,” Andy said. “I thought the chance of me winning another state title with a healthy knee was very high. We thought of alternative ways I could wrestle but it was very risky. As time went on I came to terms with my injury, realizing that what God had in store for me was greater than my senior year of wrestling.”

Perhaps due to the injury, Andy actually received very few college offers. The wrestler initially considered attending the University of Michigan, but they had no available spots on their wrestling roster. But then Andy’s dad reached out to coach Tom Brands at Iowa. Knowing the family name, Brands began to talk with Andy and soon offered him a spot on the team.

“I was really nervous while on the phone with coach Brands, but then he told me they had a spot for me on the roster and that if I wanted it, it was mine,” Andy said. “Getting an offer from a program like Iowa was pretty amazing and I am extremely excited for what the future holds.”

Still recovering, Andy plans to redshirt during his freshman year with the Hawkeyes. Although his ACL recovery has been made difficult by COVID-19, Andy has still worked his way back and was allowed to return to physical activity in June.

Undecided on a major, Andy is considering studying law at Iowa. The St. Francis grad had a 3.97 GPA during high school, and knows he will be successful no matter what route he chooses academically.

But once healthy, Andy Simaz hopes to make a big impact on the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling program. After an impressive high school career that was unfortunately cut short, he has a bright future ahead of him and is ready to add to the family name.

“My goal is to become as good of a wrestler as God intended me to be,” Andy said. “With a lot of hard work combined with the best workout partners and coaches in the country, I think I will be an All-American at Iowa and maybe even more. The goal of wrestling is to win, and I plan on winning.”