On Saturday, Feb. 24, sophomore Brogan Monty took first place at the Class 3-1A State Wrestling Tournament in Salina. Junior Brodie Boudreaux, also competing, took fifth. Monty has also won the Kids Federation State Wrestling Tournament three times and has attended the Fargo National Wrestling Championship, which he says was his toughest competition yet.
Monty began his wrestling career attending practices at age 4 and began competing at 5. He started after a family friend suggested it as a good way to build athleticism and as an energy outlet. Monty says that his success has been something he has built up over the years, as his record in his first year of competing was 0 and 13. His favorite part about the 23-24 wrestling season is, “all the memories I have made throughout the year,” and his favorite part of wrestling as a whole is “all the opportunities to travel and all the friends and connections I have made through it.”
Brodie Boudreaux started his wrestling career in 7th grade so he could try a new sport other than basketball and stay active over the winter. He also has a 7-year-old brother who started wrestling last year. Boudreaux was a successful wrestler throughout junior high, but after making the transition to high school, he found that it was “a different level of competition.” Boudreaux also qualified for State during the 22-23 season at #285. Boudreaux says that the reason he enjoys wrestling is “the hard work that it requires to be good,” and that “you can only blame yourself after a loss.” To prepare himself for matches, he tries to “get a good warmup in and visualize success.” Boudreaux says that his toughest competition yet was the 66th Rocky Welton Invitational in Garden City, where he took 9th place.
