KALISPELL — Kalispell Flathead's Anders Thompson has been a wrecking ball on the wrestling mats for the Braves for the past three years. Now a senior, he's committed to take his talents to the University of Oklahoma to continue his wrestling career.
"Everybody else besides me, is the reason where I'm at today. There’s no way I'd be in this position without any of those guys, and that’s why I owe them everything," said Thompson. "The coaching staff we have was super close with me, such good relationships with all the people close to me. And then my teammates as well, I go with those guys every day and they're all my best friends. You know, without them I would be nowhere near where I'm at today."
Thompson initially planned to commit to the University of Wyoming, but following a stellar performance at the Super 32 wrestling tournament in North Carolina, he left as the seventh-ranked wrestler for his weight class in the country and caught the Sooners' attention.
"I can see myself being super successful, especially at the Division I level, and that's why I'm going to Oklahoma," said the future Sooner. "Because I think that program can get me to the top where I want to be."
As for what it means to be joining such a high-profile university:
"Honestly, it just makes me super proud because I'm the kid from Montana, you know what I mean?" said Thompson. "It's super cool to be able to represent Flathead on different stages that Flathead is not usually seen on."
Although looking forward to continuing his wrestling career at the Power 5 program, Thompson has his focus on his final year of high school wrestling.
"This team that we have this year has worked so much harder than any teams I've been on in the past," said Thompson. "And we're so much closer, too, and I think those two things kind of coincide with each other. But everybody's super close and everybody has a common goal. It's gonna be awesome, I'm super confident in the team and I'm really excited about it."
