| Porter’s introduction to the sport of wrestling happened almost from birth, as he had two older brothers that had been in the sport for several years, and Porter was at practice and tournaments from his earliest memories. He couldn’t wait until he was old enough to start himself, and when he turned 5 he joined the Spanish Springs Wrestling Club. From day 1 Porter has wrestled in the same club, in the same community, for the same group of coaches. SSWC has been a special place. As a youth wrestler in the SSWC Porter has been coached by Jake Griffen, Marc Hassel Kramer, Chris White, Joe Imelli, and his father Steve Gresko. The coaching philosophy at SSWC has always been the slow arc of improvement on the quest to greatness. Winning has and always will take a back seat to love of the sport and skill development. As Jordan Burroughs said, “just score points and winning will take care of itself.” |
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| Over the years Porter has greatly benefited from the other wrestlers and families of Spanish Springs. For over 12 years Porter has always had a large group of dedicated kids to push and inspire him. Hundreds of early morning trips to California with great kids and great moms and dads helped nourish a deep love for the sport. We truly are one big family. Of particular help over the years were Logan Blocher, Nick Foster, Dallin Gresko (always there to put a little extra sauce on a cross face for his little brother) and especially Devin Griffen. Devin has been with Porter every step of the way, and Dad has often had to clear Porters training plans through Devin’s plans. He will be greatly missed as he moves on to college this fall. |
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Over the years Porter has won a USA Nevada Triple Crown, Multiple USA State Championships, Western Regionals Championships, and Western States Championships. He placed 5th at the WOW one year. He even finished Runner-Up at Nationals (when he was 6 LOL). He earned a Varsity spot on the high school team as a Freshman (as a backup to Three-Time State Champion Devin Griffen) and qualified for State as a Freshman where he went 2-2 (losing to 2nd and 3rd place finishers). Wrestling for Coach Imelli has been a special experience for Porter, and he has absolutely loved keeping the wrestling legacy alive and well for Joe. He was robbed of his Sophomore year thanks to COVID but that opened up an opportunity as well as we were introduced to coach Josh Nolan and Silver State Wrestling Academy. Josh has been a light in the darkness through this pandemic and his influence on Porter’s wrestling has been profound. |
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Porter is going to Fargo in a few weeks as a Second-Year Cadet. He hopes to make the podium and become an All-American. He hopes to win Individual and Team State Championships for the high school in his Junior and Senior years. Ultimately he hopes to wrestle in college. No matter what the future holds one thing will never change. He will keep working tirelessly to achieve his goals regardless of the outcome–and no matter what the outcome, his friends and family will always love to watch him wrestle. The deeper the roots, the stronger the family. |
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