Page 60 - Flathead Beacon // 3.30.16

TRAE VASQUEZ
SCHOOL | Flathead
CLASS | Sophomore
STATS:
Class AA state champion 120 pounds
On an average weekday, Trae wakes up around 6 a.m. and lifts weights and runs before school starts at 8:15 a.m. During his lunch break, he gets in a quick cardio workout in the school gym, and then after school goes to Flathead’s wrestling prac- tice. Oftentimes he stays afterward to help younger grapplers or work on a few techniques with his father, Rich, the Braves’ head coach. This unrivaled regime helps explain how Trae has become one of the best wrestlers in America. He’s also ercely motivated to be the best, something he’s already achieved in Montana. This winter, wrestling at 120 pounds, he went undefeated in 41 matches and captured the state championship, his second in a row. The reigning All-American wres- tler is now competing in national tournaments seeking greater suc- cess before returning home to lead the Braves after a team title. “It really makes me feel good knowing no one else works as hard as I do,” he says. “Being the best is really moti- vating. That keeps pushing me.”
MASON FETTERS
SCHOOL | Columbia Falls
CLASS | Junior
STATS:
Class A second place 145 pounds
Growing up in Cut Bank, Mason came from a wrestling family. When he moved to Columbia Falls at 6, he was happy to nd out he’d transferred from one com- munity with a strong grappling pedigree to another. This past o - season, he was ercely driven to improve on his previous success, which included a fourth-place state wrestling medal as a fresh- man. The hard work paid o and he cruised through the season, going 14-3 in his matches. At the state meet, he squared o against one of the best wrestlers pound for pound in Montana, Belgrade’s Jar- rett Degen. Mason came away with his best nish ever. “It was some- thing I thought I could achieve if I worked hard,” he says. “And the hard work was de nitely worth it.”
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MARCH 30, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
WRESTLING
WRESTLING