KALISPELL — It is always impressive when a wrestling team has two individual state champions, but it becomes special when those two champions are siblings, and that's what Kaura and Niko Coles have done now more than once.
For the second time in two years, Kalispell Glacier’s Coles siblings both took home individual state titles for their respective weight classes.
In his senior year, Niko Coles won his second straight state championship, ending his high school career on a high note at 165 pounds.
Glacier coach Ross Dankers said his aggressive style and hard work led to his success at this level.
“In wrestling, you want to make the other guy fall into your game plan, and he does that masterfully,” Dankers said of Niko Coles. “He uses a lot of upper-body techniques.
“That makes a lot of people uncomfortable, and when they're thinking about not getting thrown by Niko, they're in turn not thinking about their attacks and their offense.”
Even with another state title under his belt, Niko Coles is looking ahead to his future in Greco wrestling, a style that focuses on the upper-body techniques he has worked on for years.
“Felt good to have this over with because I’m going be moving to Greco wrestling now,” he said. “So, it’s nice to kind of go out on a win for my folkstyle season.”
Meanwhile, his sister Kaura, in her junior year, has won her third state title in three years, winning this year at the girls 115-pound weight class.
As a smaller wrestler, Dankers said Kaura Coles relies on her technique to gain an advantage over her opponents.
“Her attention to detail is just so specific, and she'll spend days and weeks just on one specific technique,” Dankers said. “That just makes her a master in those positions where she's not going to be stopped when she reaches those spots.”
Kaura Coles said being on the same team with two of her brothers, Niko and also Jerin, offered a unique experience that is rare in sports. (Jerin Coles took second place at 150 pounds.)
“I was really lucky that I got to compete and practice every day with two of my siblings,” Kaura Coles said. “I feel like that doesn't happen a lot, and we all made it to state. We all placed well at state, so that's a really cool experience to be able to do that with your family.”
With multiple state championships belonging to one family, you would think wrestling comes easy to the Coles.
However, it’s their dedication to the craft that they said has led to their dominance in the sport, and their hard work was noticed by their coach and the rest of the team.
“For those two to put it together like they did in that fashion and dominant fashion, Niko getting the pin, Kaura getting the tech fall over a returning state champ, it's just really impressive,” Dankers said. “It's a testament to their hard work.”
