Athlete of the Month
Nikolas Gallardo

Pictures and Content courtesy of The Gallardo Family

My name is Nikolas (Nik) Gallardo. I am a seventeen-year-old Junior wrestling at The Meadows, and I’ve been involved in the sport for 12 years. I also train at Aniciete Training Club (ATC). I am grateful to be nominated as NVSportsLocal’s Athlete of the Month for November.
My older brothers, Bobby, Noah, and Sam Gallardo, were my inspiration to start and keep wrestling. Watching them compete made me want to be just like them. Their names are all over the walls at Shadow Ridge High School, and even though I don’t go there, I want to surpass what they achieved in their high school and college careers.
I started wrestling at the age of five. I didn’t win any of the tournaments my first year, but I always kept coming back because it was awesome. I still remember my first victory, which was in 2016 at the Cimarron Bad Boy Brawler. Winning that tournament made me realize that wrestling is the most fun sport I have ever done, and it motivated me to push myself even more.
My dad was the youth head coach at Team Vegas, where I first started, and he has been in my corner for my entire wrestling career. I learned a lot from him, and he even taught me my favorite shot: the sweep single. Having him there always telling me to “give 100 percent effort every time, and I could never be mad, win or lose,” was invaluable.
When my dad stopped being the head coach at Team Vegas, we moved to the Cimarron Bad Boys. Meeting Coach Pickett and Coach Morales, along with my dad, significantly improved my wrestling. At the State tournament with Cimarron, I individually placed 4th in folkstyle and 2nd in both freestyle and Greco. I loved being at Cimarron and wanted to keep getting better, but since it wasn’t a year-round team, we eventually went to Pistol Wrestling Club.
Meeting Coach Pete, Anselmo, and Teddy helped me improve even more. Having kids I wrestled at tournaments as partners pushed me harder each day. My dad, as the assistant head coach there, provided additional help. We even held extra practices with Dexter Donough, a kid who needed assistance. These extra sessions helped me hone fundamental skills like fixing my feet placement when shooting and improving my bottom position. My confidence in the sweep single shot soared—I realized it was my go-to move and knew I would continue to master it.
I was part of Pistol from 2017 until COVID happened. After that, I went to ATC. Since 2021, I have been training with Coach Nap, Val, and Alex at ATC, and my wrestling has improved immensely. My neutral game is much better, and we’ve worked on my shot even more by adding setups and learning how to stay in a good stance and position constantly. ATC has also made my top game greater than I ever expected. The cradle, which I love to use, blossomed there, and I learned how to lock it up on almost everyone with ease
Wrestling with Coach Nap taught me to keep attacking and always think three moves ahead of my opponent. Coach Val has taught me to keep my feet moving and how to execute counter-offense with ease. Coach Alex has taught me how to be aggressive and to always be 100 percent into my opponent.
One learning obstacle I have faced, but haven’t yet perfected, is “floating.” Floating is where you go 70-80 percent with your partner, allowing your wrestling to flow and getting into uncomfortable positions. When I started doing it, I tried to win every go, but over time, floating has taught me how to scramble and be comfortable yet confident in uncomfortable positions. Having Coaches Nap, Val, and Alex as my club coaches made me far better than I thought I could ever be.
Going into my freshman year, I learned that Coach Nap and Val were going to take over the wrestling program at The Meadows. I was conflicted because my brothers all wrestled at Shadow Ridge, and their names are all over the wall there. All the coaches at Shadow knew me and were excited to have me, but learning that Coach Nap and Val were taking over at Meadows was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. They are some of the best coaches I have ever had, and I wanted to go where they were.
My freshman season made me really nervous. In other tournaments, I had only wrestled freshmen, who had my same strength, but older high schoolers were a different story. I kept asking myself, “Do I have the strength and speed to keep up with these kids?” I learned I was good enough by having my brother Sam as my partner in high school and club practices. Having him there from the summer until January made my wrestling significantly better. He pushed me incredibly hard and taught me unique skills, showing me how to keep flowing through everything. Having him there to constantly challenge me during drills taught me that if I could keep up with my brother, I could keep up with anybody.
My high school record in my freshman year was 32-5, placing 4th at the Cimarron Spartan Invitational and 4th at the Chaparral Invite. Leading into Regionals, I was nervous because I had never wrestled the two top-seeded kids. My dad and I went and watched their dual, and I realized I could beat them. In Regionals, I was in a different mindset. I felt like I had to prove everybody wrong. With Mark Henry’s theme song, “Somebody is gonna get it,” running through my head, I went out there and didn’t allow a single point throughout the tournament. I realized I had this.
Going into State, I questioned myself, “Am I really able to do this?” After a practice with Coach Nap, one phrase he said became engraved in my mind: “You’re ready. Nobody is able to compete with you.” My first two matches at State were a pin and a 2-0 win. Going into the finals, I was nervous because I hadn’t wrestled the kid, and he had beaten and lost to kids I had beaten. Then it clicked: this kid is older, thinks he’s way better than me, and is underestimating me. Going into the match with the mentality, ‘I’m going to beat you,’ helped a lot, and I pinned him in the second period.
My goal from 6th grade to 9th grade was to win a high school state title and be on the same level as my brothers. Accomplishing this felt amazing, but the post-season at Virginia Beach was intimidating. I thought, “Can I really compete with East Coast kids?” Through 5 a.m. practices, arriving 30 minutes early, and regular practice, Coach Nap instilled one phrase that stuck with me: “Do something you have never done before.” This pushed me through the 5 a.m. workouts and the tournament, helping me go 6-3 and place 8th at Virginia Beach. My practice partner, Nate Prado, and I both became All-Americans, and we realized our hard work had paid off. We kept thinking, “It has finally paid off; we did this.”
I am thankful for my brothers, Bobby, Noah, and Sam, for pushing me every day to be the best. I’d especially like to thank Sam because he has been my partner for two years, pushing me to be my best, and is the best partner I have ever had. I’d also like to thank my dad for always being in my corner. Having him there to vent about anything in a match or to look up kids in a bracket and analyze their strategies contributes significantly to my success.
It has been two years since I was last nominated for this. During my sophomore year, Coach Nap and Coach Val started pushing me even further, especially since I had taken a break to play football, so they worked to get me back up to speed. The season went well for the most part: I went 37-7, took 2nd at the Green Valley Invitational, lost in the blood rounds at the Cimarron Spartan Invite (going 5-2), and took 1st at Regionals for 3A without giving up any points.
Unfortunately, at State, I didn’t get what I wanted, which was another state title; I took 2nd place. This loss made me re-examine how I look at wrestling—as a part of my life, not just an obligation. After State, I started training for Fargo because I still really want to go D1 for wrestling. During that training, I thought I was doing all I could—running over three miles every day, attending multiple practices and workouts—but it was not enough. Fargo made me realize the level required to be the best, and it changed the way I train in both practice and the gym. In practice, instead of thinking a high pace was the only way to get better, I slowed down and really emphasized every move and position. This taught me to improve at floating and gave me a better appreciation for wrestling. In the gym, I started focusing only on wrestling lifts like barbell rows, pull-ups, jumps, and plyometrics to make my feet faster and more precise.
My mentality, which had been a struggle after State, finally improved. I began to view wrestling as the most fun thing I could do. I started wanting to go to practice every day to get better, looking at it as a desire rather than something I am just good at. After Fargo, I grew and started weighing around 185, so I decided to stay near that weight and wrestle 175 at Freakshow and Iowa Preseason Nationals.
To start this new training, my brother Sam, my Dad, and I began doing 5 a.m. strength workouts. These workouts were tough at first, but they really changed how I view myself. It made me realize I work harder than anyone else around me, so I need to push the pace because I know I can keep up. At Freakshow, I went 8-1 and took 3rd, which made me realize I had reached a new level, surpassing where I was during my freshman and sophomore years, and even a couple of months prior at Fargo.
The hard work was paying off and gave me momentum going into Iowa. Training specifically for Iowa at ATC helped me get better at floating. Floating made my positioning much better and made my shots feel smoother—less brute strength and more technique combined with strength. Training with Coach Nap, Coach Val, Kayden Hanlon, and my brothers Sam and Noah made my confidence skyrocket before the tournament. At Iowa, I made it to the semi-finals in the Recruiting Showcase bracket (to qualify for this, you need to be a State Champ or an All-American). I ended up placing 4th. I believe I could have done much better, but I’m happy that I was able to accomplish this.
Now, going into my Junior season with my first tournament coming up on the 29th, I am excited to compete again and I’m looking for another State Title. I am always grateful for the opportunity to wrestle; without it, I don’t know how my life would be. Going to practice, whether it’s a 5 a.m. session or a live one, is always fun because I’m learning new things. Wrestling has taught me valuable lessons in life, including how to be a respectful person, and has guided how I live today.
Nikolas Gallardo Bio Part 1 Link