BRENDAN BELL
FORT GIBSON HIGH SCHOOL
Rough and tumble brotherly competition is nothing new. But imagine what the inside of your house might look like when those two highly competitive brothers are standout wrestlers. Well that’s the story of junior Trenton and younger (but bigger) brother Brendan, a freshman, and the subject of this article.
Brendan is a two-time middle school state champion wrestling this season at 157 pounds for the Tigers and is off to a 15-2 start at this writing in his freshman year with his only losses coming at the hands of two-time state champ Cole Mayfield of Sallisaw.
“Brendan is our first two-time state middle school champ though I’m not surprised having watched him and his brother for several years,” said coach Sammy Johnson. “He’s a hard worker and sometimes at night he’ll come out and work out with our little league kids. He and Trenton are good workout partners, and every day is like a full-blown match at practice with them. They bang on each other all the time and it probably carries over to their house,” laughed Johnson. “We hope to see both of them on the podium at state this year.”
Brendan acknowledges the competition with his brother as he talked about his start in wrestling.
“My dad wrestled in high school, so he got me and Trenton started early around four or five years old. I love the winning aspect of wrestling and embrace the grind of it and the team atmosphere which is a lot different than it is in football,” said Brendan who plays running back and linebacker for the Tigers. “Trenton and I fight a lot during practice, and it can get a little heated but even though we grind and trash talk a lot, I think it helps us both become better.”
Brendan wrestles freestyle in the summer which he feels gives him and advantage over some of his opponents. He’s been to some national tournaments but is looking forward to this year when he’s old enough to compete at the big national freestyle tournament in Fargo. But before that his focus will be on finding ways to beat Cole Mayfield and claim a state championship in his first high school season.
