An articulate and gregarious sort, Braxton Strick is enjoying a college-credit public speaking class he is taking at Ozarks Technical Community College this semester.
The lessons he’s learned there helped him fight off nerves while on the mic to introduce Ozark’s wrestling team at the school’s annual “Meet The Tigers Night” last month.
“When I'm wrestling, I don't have to talk, I just wrestle, so that was different,” he said. “I was pretty confident. I was talking about wrestling, so there was no reason to be nervous.”
It may not be the last time Strick is speaking into a mic. He could also be at the podium come graduation. Ozark’s most recent state champion is in contention to be its next valedictorian.
Strick maintains the same standards for himself in the classroom that he does on the mat. As the fall semester of his senior year draws to a close, he’s carrying a 4.4 grade point average on a weighted scale.
He isn’t sure where he stands among Ozark’s GPA leaders, but figures he’s got a chance to end up at the top.
“I've got to be somewhere up there,” he said.
"He's a great example of someone who doesn't try to be excellent here and not have the same high expectations elsewhere,” Ozark coach Tod Sundlie said. “He maintains his expectations in all his areas. That's a tribute to him. That's what it takes to have that kind of success.””
Strick’s niche in the classroom is math.
”I like anything related to Math. I'm pretty good at numbers,” he said. “I’m in Calculus now, I took college Algebra last year and have also taken Trig(onometry) and Algebra II. I like to pay attention and get as much right as I can. That's carried me a long way.”
Strick’s self-motivation has also made him a champion. The Class 4 152-pound titlist as a junior last season is as motivated to win a second state championship as he was for his first.
“This year, the goal is the same. I have the same drive,” Strick said. “I did it once, I want to do it again. Nothing is stopping me except myself.
”I'm always pushing the pace and giving it my all. That drive comes down from deep inside of me,” he added. “I want to be a better version of myself every day. If I keep pushing myself, that's going to happen, I'm going to continually get better and better as the days go on.”
Strick also isn’t putting any added pressure on himself, trusting that his preparation will offer him solace, no matter his finish.
“I wouldn't say it would be a letdown,” he said of a possible scenario in which he wouldn’t be a repeat champ. “If I give it my 100-percent effort and don't get it, there are worse things that could happen in the world. But of course I want to go out and win.”
Sundlie said Strick can expect the proverbial target on his back to be bigger than ever.
“He is going to experience different pressure and expectations. He's got to continue to trust the process and plan,” Sundlie said. “There's going to be some different distractions. He's got to keep his focus. I've seen him do it before and expect him to do it again this year.”
Strick is 134-10 in his Ozark career. He’s 90-4 the past two seasons. He’ll continue his career at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
When he began wrestling, he had no ambitions to get to this point. But once he began achieving success, the sport got his attention in a big way.
“When I was younger, I just liked being good at something,” Strick said. “When I was 8 ears old, I hit the corner and got pretty good. As I started to get into the seventh and eighth grades, I told myself I need to take this seriously.”
Strick also has high expectations for his teammates. He is part of a veteran Ozark group. The Tigers have a bevy of starters back from last season’s team that ended Neosho’s string of COC Tournament championships at nine.
“Coach (Jeremy Phillips) has done great things with their program and made it something special. We don't want to be like Neosho, we want to be ourselves," Strick said. "I think we're going to be competing everywhere we go.”
This weekend, Ozark debuts at the Dan Gable Donnybrook Tournament in Coralville, Iowa. The 38-team field has entrants from Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota.
““They place out to 32, so there will be a lot of matches in two days,” Strick said. “I’m looking forward to a tournament like that to start out the year.”
