Taking it To the Mat

Wrestler’s hard work pays off

By: Camdyn Beirow

Colton Horne has accomplished a lot in his wrestling career, his 100th win, becoming a 2 time LouPlatte Conference champ, punching his ticket to the state tournament for 2 consecutive years, and now he’s a state medalist.

It wasn’t easy for Horne, who started his wrestling career in 6th grade at the age of 12. He struggled in his early career and had a lackluster Freshman year at the 170 pound weight class, finishing 11-12.

“[I’m] very proud of [Colton’s] hard work. He struggled his Freshman year and even considered quitting wrestling. We kept encouraging him to stick with it,” says Colton’s mom Brenda Horne. 

Horne saw a massive improvement during his sophomore season, mainly due to his hard work and dedication in the offseason. He’s always been described as the hardest worker in the room and the most dedicated. Wrestling at 160 lbs., Horne finished as a runner-up in the LouPlatte Conference invite. Horne then fell in a heartbreaking loss at districts to miss qualifying for State. This may have been a low point in Horne’s career, but he would soon get the results he deserved.

“Colton is the hardest worker in the room, and it shows in his matches. The levels that he has jumped over the years to get him where he's at would make any coach proud. He shows up for summer workouts and gets as much mat time as he can,” says head coach Mr. Andrew Smith.

Junior year was yet another step up from the previous year. Horne came out on top of the conference for the first time and qualified for state. Horne went 2-2 at state and finished 8th in the competitive 182 pound weight class. While this was amazing for Horne, he felt as if there was some unfinished business.

“I was pumped about my first trip to state but still wanted to do better. I knew I had to work even harder to see the kind of growth I hoped for,” said Horne. 

In between his junior and senior year, Horne suffered from a slightly torn meniscus while practicing. Horne then completely tore his meniscus the next day while lifting weights.

“The journey back was long and interesting. I was a little worried to come back for football because I thought it was early, but I feel playing only helped my knee get stronger along with the PT,” says Horne. “When it came to wrestling I had to teach myself how to take shots with my other leg since I tore my shooting leg. That was the most frustrating part.”

Horne’s senior year has been nothing short of spectacular. Once again jumping weight classes, this time to 190, he dominated the competition. Horne’s season record is 31-11 this year, and he earned his 100th career win. That win was earned at the home invite, in front of a home crowd filled with his friends and family. 

“For a little bit it [getting 100 wins] seemed to be far out of reach, but once I started progressing it seemed more and more as a reachable goal. It feels surreal that I did it,” says Horne.

His season only got more exciting from there. Horne won a tough match to become a back-to-back conference champion and qualified for state for the second  year in a row. His career record now sits at the respectable number of 102-64.

Horne finished out the long season in Omaha. Horne won his first match but fell to his opponent in a fourth overtime during his second match, resulting in him losing the ultimate tie breaker. Horne won his third match with a pin in just 31 seconds. Horne then lost to who would become the third place finisher in a tight match ending 5-3. In the fifth place match, Horne came out firing, pinning his competitor near the end of the second period. With this win, Colton Horne finished his wrestling career earning one of the hardest awards in the state, an NSAA wrestling medal. 

“It feels really good to have gotten that state medal,” said Horne. “All of that hard work paid off.”