THE BELL BROTHERS-FT GIBSON
Wrestling has been a life-long passion for the Bell brothers, Brendan and Trenton, who are excelling in the sport at Fort Gibson. The boys got into wrestling through their father who wrestled at Muskogee. They went to school in K-8 Norwood and wrestled in OKWA tournaments and where they could around Fort Gibson until they got to high school in Fort Gibson.
Brendan, a sophomore this year, was the Class 4A state runner-up at 157 pounds last year as a freshman and is ranked number one at his weight this year.
“Going from club soccer where you’re wrestling just kids that are U-10 or U-12 to high school was pretty dramatic for me because there you’re wrestling kids that are 18 or 19 years old,” said the younger Bell. “The biggest thing I learned from last year was just to go out and have fun no matter how ranked or accomplished your opponent might be. I really didn’t feel the pressure of wrestling at state last year until the very last match as a freshman wrestling a really good guy who’s in college wrestling now.”
Brendan’s goal for this wrestling season is for the team to take dual state and the team state title and for him to come out on top this time in the championship match.
Trenton, a senior, is the defending state champ at 144 pounds and is also ranked first in the state at his weight.
“My freshman and sophomore years were just so-so, but I really picked it up last year as I beat the defending state champ at regionals and then went on to win state. This year I want to repeat as state champ and really dominate the weight class this time.”
His coach Sammy Johnson says both brothers are valuable members of the squad.
“Trenton leads by example. He keeps the energy up in the middle of a dual and works with the other guys when they need to improve. He’s definitely a guy you want on your team. Brendan is a real competitor who is wrestling really well right now.”
In addition to school wrestling, both brothers look forward to wrestling in the prestigious Fargo Nationals tournament during the summer.
“It’s the best competition you’ll come across in your high school career,” said Brendan. Trenton is hoping to wrestle at the college level next year and also looks forward to wrestling Fargo and the other national tournaments this summer.
