Connor Pellett

Qualifying for the second time in two years, senior Connor Pellett came back to the state tournament with one goal in mind: winning a medal. “I knew from the beginning that that’s what my goal was gonna be: do better at state than I did last year.” Compared to the 2018 tournament, when he was just “happy to be there” and even a little intimidated by the unfamiliar atmosphere, Pellett changed his mindset this go around and was there to “take care of business.” However, this didn’t stop him from having fun and enjoying the experience. “I was focused but I also felt good. I was positive, it was great,” Pellett said, revealing that he even danced during warm-ups. Reaching his goal and getting to “come home with a souvenir,” he said he “made it a point to smile the whole time” while on the podium.

With 29 pins, a record of 56-23 and an eighth-place state finish to end his senior year and wrestling career, Pellett said what he has learned in wrestling will never be forgotten. “I’ll take them with me into situations for the rest of my life.” He also earned his fourth and final Iron Man, which is an award given to those who never miss a practice or other wrestling-related activity, and he is the only one to do so. Pellett credits head coach Tim Duff and the Atlantic-CAM wrestling program for having a great impact on his life. “What Tim Duff has done to me cannot be put into words,” he said. Pellett also expressed how there is nothing else that can make someone into “as tough or as resilient or as respectable in the community as being a Trojan wrestler.”