Putting In The Work – University of Nebraska

Even now, it’s hard to believe that I went 169-0 in my high school wrestling career and won four straight state titles. 

But, as crazy as it sounds, I didn’t expect anything else because I know I worked as hard as you can possibly work to make it happen.

I’ve always wanted to be one of the best high school wrestlers in the history of Idaho. It’s a dream come true knowing that people will always remember my name and that I’m only the fourth wrestler in Idaho’s highest classification to finish his career with no losses.

When you work very hard at your craft, put in the time, and have a great support system, anything is possible. 

I genuinely believe I was destined to be a wrestler. 

Before I could even walk, I was in a wrestling gym. Around the time I was born, my father, my uncle, and the pastor’s son of ‘my’ church established a wrestling club. It was essentially an outreach program for the church.

Being there every day was almost like daycare, and I really appreciated that. So literally, from the age of two, I was pretty much surrounded by the sport of wrestling.

My dad wrestled, too, but he didn’t care if I was following in his footsteps.

He just wanted me to try, truthfully. 

But, well, it didn’t take me long to fall in love with it. 

Wrestling is the sport I had the most success in and excelled in quickly, so it was a no-brainer to stick with it. 

By the time I was in second or third grade, I started talking about my goals. 

Four-time state champ.

College wrestler.

Olympian.

It’s not unusual for kids to dream big, but man, I was determined to make things happen. 

I was always doing extra work. In high school, “Party Time” was an extra workout after practice that you had to do if you missed practice, got a bad grade, or got in trouble in class. 

But, because I was so dedicated to the sport, I went to “Party Time” every day without getting into trouble. 

When you go undefeated for a while, every wrestling match adds a bit of pressure not to taint the record.

But I wasn’t trying to focus on that.

In fact, I always just tried to think about the next one and never looked too far ahead or behind. And my coach helped me stay focused on the task ahead. 

He would always talk to me about my thoughts and how I was feeling. 

Having those open and transparent conversations was a huge part of my success in high school.

And for that, I’ll be forever grateful.