HELENA — Last wrestling season, Helena Capital’s Cole Graham wrestled his way to the top of Class AA’s 182-pound weight class.
This season, Graham will look to capture a second straight individual state title.
“I mean, yeah, it’s on your mind,” Graham, who now competes in the 190-pound weight class, said of repeating as an individual state champion. “But you got to take each match on its own. And you got to work hard every day. You know, you got to take each match, each week, day by day — stuff like that.”
Graham’s mindset is something his coaches point to as evidence of his maturation as a wrestler.
“As he gets older, he’s maturing, right,” said Shawn Graham, Capital’s head wrestling coach. “And a lot of that maturing is more mental than physical. When he was younger, I think there were more times when he was so upset that he would take himself out of matches, to now he really has learned how to focus, be mentally strong and win those tight matches.”
And Shawn Graham has gotten to watch Cole’s maturation firsthand as both Cole’s wrestling coach and his father.
“Well, I mean it’s certainly special any time you get to coach your own kids, obviously,” said Shawn Graham. “We’ve been at this since he was 5 years old, so it’s been a long ride, a long road. And he’s worked hard. And he’s doing what I expected him to do: go out there and compete and win more than he loses. And he’s certainly been doing that these last couple years.”
And the younger Graham said getting to share wrestling with his dad has been special.
“Not a lot of kids get to experience this,” said Cole Graham. “So, I mean, it’s been fun. You know, he’s hard on me, got into me a little bit. But he’s been good. And he encouraged me.”
