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Tommy began going to organized wrestling practice at the age of four, but honestly he had been wrestling for most of his life against his older brother Sean; about since he could walk. One fateful Sunday when he was technically too young to wrestle in tournaments, George Anne Ritter, the USA Wresting State Chairperson at the time, asked if Tommy would wrestle because there were only two other rookies registered. He won both matches, and so began an incredible journey that would take him through his senior year of high school and three–3A state championships and four regional championships, plus a few other notable wins along the way.
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Tommy enjoyed a lot of early success in wrestling. As with most of Tommy’s athletic endeavors, his dad Tom, was his first coach. After a few years it became clear that knowledgeable, experienced coaching was going to be crucial to Tommy’s continued success and desire to stay on the path of wrestling. We have been incredibly blessed with the countless coaches that no doubt had a lot to do with Tommy’s achievements; Wade Workman, Trey Edmunds, and Trevor DeBraga to name only a few. |
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Tommy was always busy and often had an overlap of sports. Football has always been his passion, but wrestling and baseball kept him busy when not on the gridiron. During Football season he spent most Sundays in Reno getting ready for wrestling. The summer schedule was a juggling act between wrestling camps (Azevedo Hitchcock–Pre-Fargo camps), Football camps and baseball tournaments. |
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| We have fond memories of weekends spent camping in Winnemucca for the state wrestling tournaments (Tommy was the recipient of three Triple-Crown Awards), Road trips to Pocatello, Idaho for Western States Regional Championships and Provo, and Utah for UA Youth Nationals. As Tommy got older the “road trip” became a little further, there were multiple trips to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Denver, Colorado and Virginia Beach. |
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Once Tommy hit high school it became apparent, he really wanted to pursue football at the next level. The summer after his sophomore year in high school he and Sean attended many college recruiting camps together. Tommy had the luxury of getting on college coaches’ radars early. After attending the University of Idaho elite camp last summer and subsequently receiving an offer, it seemed a likely place for him to attend. The opportunity to play at the next level with his brother Sean was very appealing, as was the football program and the academics offered at the University of Idaho. |
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