BUTTE — Brady Armstrong showed up in Butte last week with the goal of emerging as a four-time Western B-C champion.
He passed that test with flying colors, storming to the 215-pound title via four pins — three of them being delivered in the first 45 seconds.
And now he'll look to fulfill an even bigger objective at the state wrestling tournament in Billings this week.
The senior Panther, who holds the school record with 161 career wins and the most pins with 105, will be looking to make program history. If Armstrong, who won the 205-pound B-C crown last season, wins again at 215, he would become Jefferson's first wrestler to win multiple state titles.
"It's a pretty big drive, just wanting to do that," said Armstrong at the divisional meet.
After falling in the 182-pound state championship as a sophomore, Armstrong was determined to prevail as a junior. He did just that, and chalked it up to effort directly relating to outcome.
"Hard work and dedication," said Armstrong. "That's what wrestling truly is, how much work are you going to put into it. That's what you'll get out of it, how much work you put into it."
That work has translated into Armstrong being an incredibly efficient wrestler and his coach, Troy Humphrey, noted that sound mechanics have contributed to the many wins he's piled up.
"He's just a really great technician," said Humphrey. "He rarely gets out of position. And so that makes him really hard to score on. And when you're hard to score on obviously the opponent isn't going to put up a lot of points, while (Armstrong) is."
But from Armstrong's perspective, during a match, there's really not a whole lot going through his head.
"I kind of just blank out during matches," he said. "My mind just goes black I trust my body to do what it wants."
