Already winning, St. Michael-Albertville wrestler Landon Robideau strives to be a different sort of winner

Landon Robideau’s path has been obvious since his boyhood wrestling days in Olivia, Minn.

A senior 160-pounder for St. Michael-Albertville, he’s always seemed a natural on the mat, blessed with fluid hips, innate tenacity, unrivaled resolve and an intuitive feel for the ebbs and flows of matches. Robideau on a wrestling mat was a no-brainer, a synchronous match of the right person in the perfect environment.

So it’s not a surprise that Robideau became a high school state champion, nor that he won three consecutive championships after runner-up finishes to Lakeville North’s Jore Volk in seventh and eighth grade.

The surprising part: He realized he wanted more.

Wrestling was already the centerpiece of his life. He was winning virtually every time he stepped on the mat. What more was there?

A conversation about two years ago resulted in the change Robideau was seeking, unlocking levels he hadn’t been sure he could reach.

Robideau’s wrestling took a large leap forward when he stopped worrying about improving on the mat and tried to become a better person off it.

Robideau credits an unfortunate life-changing event for his current status as the top high school wrestler in the state.

“When I was in ninth grade, my mom and dad got divorced. My mom and the mom of [assistant coach and former state champion] Joe Grygelko started talking,” Robideau said. “She’s a lady of strong faith, and what she said kind of sparked my interest, about my faith and having belief in yourself and something more to focus on.”

Some athletes reflexively pay lip service to their spirituality that often strain credulity after personal or team victories.

That’s not Robideau. When he commits, he’s not about to just dip a toe in the water.

Case in point: Robideau is known for a gallon jug that’s always nearby in matches. It holds a liquid of his own making — a concoction of lemon water, coconut water, honey and Himalayan salt — designed to keep him hydrated and cut recovery time.

Few have sampled it; fewer still care to do so again.

“I don’t really like it,” swears younger brother Lincoln, a freshman who’s determined to use Landon as a template for his own success. “But it works for him.”

“It tastes like sweat,” St. Michael-Albertville coach Josh Joriman confirmed.

But that’s Robideau, unconcerned about the unpleasant.

“What drives him is he’s always looking to be the best version of himself,” Joriman said. “He’s always trying to make it better.”

So Robideau took the spiritual message relayed by his mother, Jennifer, and devoted himself to bolstering his spiritual side. He quickly noticed positive side effects.

“I saw a big difference in my wrestling,” Robideau said. “I began to believe in myself and everything I can do. I used to be so focused on wins and losses. Then I started caring more about others than about myself. It was kind of freeing. I stopped worrying if I lost or had a bad match. It meant that happened for a purpose.”

His point of focus changed, but the object did not. He still wants to win. But his aim is higher, and how he gets there is a little different.

After his sophomore season, he made a verbal commitment to Minnesota, following St. Michael-Albertville wrestling legends he’s long admired, such as Mike, David and Tommy Thorn, Mitchell and Patrick McKee and Grygelko.

But as time passed and the picture grew bigger, his wrestling goals changed. He decided he needed to find high-level wrestling training elsewhere.

Enter Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys field what is widely regarded as a blue-blood wrestling program. They’re ranked third in NCAA Division I. The campus in Stillwater, Okla., is also the site of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. New head coach David Taylor is an Olympic gold medalist, a two-time NCAA champion, three-time world champion and a veteran of Penn State’s elite program.

Robideau realized that’s where he wanted to be.

He and the Cowboys coaches connected. It wasn’t long before Robideau flipped from Minnesota and committed to Oklahoma State.

“Nothing against Minnesota. I love it there. But I felt like I was stuck in the five to 12 range [in national rankings],” he said. “I had to get into the top four. I want to win at the Olympics. I want to be a world champion. My goal is to be the best in the world. They can help me do that.”

His steps forward manifested themselves in October at the Super 32 meet in North Carolina, perhaps the most prestigious youth and high school-age invitational in the country. He was the only Minnesota boy of the 16 entered to place at the meet.

Robideau won at 150 pounds with a 20-5 technical fall victory in the final.

“That’s when I noticed I’d improved a good bit from last year, at the Super 32 and [the U.S. Junior Nationals in] Fargo,” he said. “Some matches that were close last year I won by tech fall this year.”

He’s carried that momentum into this high school season. He entered the season with 234 career victories and has not lost yet, winning 20 in a row to give him a career record of 254-6. He hasn’t lost a high school match since ninth grade. The state record is 286 career victories, set by Destin McCauley of Apple Valley in 2011. It’s a mark Robideau likely will fall just short of reaching.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to get that because of COVID,” he said. “We didn’t have as many matches.”

Not that it matters to Robideau. He seeks victories and the summits they allow him to reach, but he’s no longer obsessed with them.

It’s his intent to give more than he takes that defines him.

“He’s so smooth and so fluid. He’s always looking for whatever edge he can get,” Joriman said. “But what impresses me the most is not on the mat. It’s how he’s always willing to give and help others.”

That, Robideau said, is the byproduct of his strident faith.

“I know people see me as a wrestler, but I want to be seen more as a person who helps people, who treats people well and does the right thing,” Robideau said. “I want to be a good person first.”