Mr. Three-Timer
Mommer wins 3rd straight Wrestler of the Year honor after becoming 3-time state champ
Earlier this month, Cibola senior Tommy Mommer became the first wrestler in the history of Cibola’s storied program to win a third individual state title.
So it’s no surprise that in the 16 years the Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club has been presenting Player of the Year awards, Mommer is the first three-time Wrestler of the Year winner.
Mommer capped his historic high school career with a dominant senior season that included a 39-1 record overall, an undefeated mark locally, a fourth-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions and a pin of Desert Vista’s Brett Johnson in the heavyweight final at the AIA Division I State Tournament.
Two years ago, Mommer was the only local wrestling state champion when he captured Division I’s 220-pound title. He repeated last year to become Cibola’s sixth-ever two-time champion, and then made history this year upon moving to heavyweight.
“It’s wild, from freshman year to the way I molded senior year,” Mommer said. “So many memories, so many guys I got close with. It’s just awesome. It was a great experience, something that I’ll always remember.”
Mommer also has been a part of four top-four team finishes by the Raiders at state. His freshman year, Cibola won the Division II team title — though he didn’t place, coming one match away from doing so — and then the team ran off fourth-, third- and second-place finishes his next three years at the Division I level.
Mommer’s career has also included him earning All-American status three different times.
Jankowski recalls Mommer’s personal leap coming during the offseason between his freshman and sophomore year.
“He wanted to be the (school’s) first four-timer, I mean that’s kind of everyone’s goal when you come into the room, so the fact that he didn’t (win freshman year), that summer he put in a lot of work,” Jankowski said. “He did the right things that summer, and he took a monster, monster leap.”
What stands out most about Mommer, Jankowski said, is his ability to rise to the occasion on the biggest of stages.
“I’ve said this probably in 3-4 different articles, but the bigger the event, the better he is,” Jankowski said. “I mean, that’s just the way it is with him. It’s fun to watch. He’s just one of those rare, rare kids that doesn’t let the moment overcome him. Not too many athletes are like that; I’ve only had two the entire time I’ve been (at Cibola).”
Mommer said his biggest highlight this year may not actually have been the state title — which was very much expected that he’d win — but rather a win over the nation’s No. 8-ranked heavyweight at the Battle for the Belt in January.
But his career highlight, he said, was that very first state title back in February of 2016. The next year at state, when he repeated, was when Jankowski truly realized just how special of wrestler Mommer was.
“He kid (he wrestled in the finals) was an absolute monster from Basha; he looked like a man child,” Jankowski said. “When Tommy beat him, that showed me that he was ready.”
So dominance was expected of Mommer this year, and that he delivered with all that pressure on him was an accomplishment of its own.
“I think it was even more stressful, because I think he was putting a little bit too much on himself because he’s going to be the first three-timer, everybody knows he’s going to win, so if that doesn’t happen, it’s ‘Oh, shoot,’” Jankowski said.
As for the future, Mommer said he’s looking at a few different colleges but has nothing set in stone yet.
“I finally realized that I should get out of here and go try and wrestle, just to see what it’s like,” he said.