Evan Barajas, Junior.
As Evan Barajas begins to wrap up his junior year at Bonners Ferry High School, he will have one more opportunity to see his dreams on the wrestling mat realized. While the competitive wrestling season is relatively short, the training for Evan never stops. He has competed on the varsity team each of his first three years in high school, and the accolades continue to pile up. He’s been district champion and placed in the state tournament all three years, even being a two-time state finalist and one-time state champion at his weight class.
Evan’s determination for success is evident, with big goals for his senior season. Despite all the success, it’s been some of the challenging times that stay fresh in Evan’s mind. “A match I’ll always remember is losing my first state championship my sophomore year,” he said.
Training to be a competitive wrestler requires early mornings, heavy lifting, long runs and acquiring a lot of mental toughness. “A challenge I’ll face is that I get burnt out or drained from the long season, but I remember everything I’ve done to get to that point and what the end goal is,” said Evan. He also credits his coaches for helping keep him motivated toward achieving his goals. “A lesson the sport of wrestling and all of my coaches have taught me is to become great at something you need to put in extra work and time.”
Evan’s current focus is on wrapping up his current school year and setting goals for his senior season. His eyes are set on another state title and knows the hard work ahead of him to achieve such a feat. He plans on attending college after graduation but isn’t quite sure yet if he plans to continue his wrestling career. But before all of that gets settled, he has one more season to realize a dream and leave it all out on the mat. “What I enjoy about wrestling is the competitiveness,” he said. “It’s just two guys going head to head with one winner, and the only stat that matters is winning.”