IT'S ALL ABOUT ONE THING

There have been many illustrious wrestling careers in the annals of Havre High wrestling. In fact, the number of great individuals and the championships they have won are too many to count.

But one current wrestler that wants to be mentioned among those greats is Blue Pony senior Grayson Brenna.

For Brenna, a former individual state champion and member of two Class A team championships, wrestling is everything. He has done it for as long as he can remember and once he was able to do it at the varsity level, he dedicated himself to wrestling completely. He doesn't play football, he doesn't play basketball or participate in any other sport for that matter, he just wrestles. And he does it year round, competing in tournaments across the state and the country.

And that, he says has been a big reason for his success on the mat for HHS.

"I've been wrestling since I was really little, since the age of four," Brenna said. "So it's something that I have always worked at and since I got into high school, I just chose (wrestling) instead of doing anything else. I wanted to focus on that instead of playing two or three sports and that's what it's carried me to.

"It's pretty much something I do year round, even in the offseason," He added. "I think focusing on one sport really helps get you better at that specific sport. And you are dedicating your focus on certain goals for just that one sport."

In three years as a Pony wrestler, Brenna's achievements read like a laundry list. He has won too many regular season individual titles to count. But his most impressive career highlights include three finishes in the top three at the All-Class State Meet.

As a freshmen, Brenna was second at 98 pounds, then as a sophomore he won his only individual state title to date at 105 pounds. And in his junior season, he was poised for a second state title, but finished third after a rare defeat at the hands of Gresh Jones in the semifinals of the 120-pound weight class in what remains the most difficult loss of his dominant high school career.

"I think I was more upset when I lost last year (2014) than when I lost when I was a freshman and I lost in the championship," Brenna said. "I knew I had made it to the finals twice and I knew I could make it again. So, losing in the semifinals, that was hard and that has really helped me be determined to get back to the championship this year."

Although there is no shame in losing to Jones, who is a three-time state champion, the sting of that defeat served as motivation for Brenna, who is in the midst of a highly-successful senior season. Not only has Brenna been ranked No. 1 all season in the 132-pound weight class, he's won numerous individual titles and won them in dominating fashion.

Over the course of his senior campaign, Brenna has lost just twice. The first came in the opening weekend of the season in the finals of the Havre Invitational, where he lost to Jarren Kormac of Great Falls High via a 1-0 decision after four overtime periods. Kormac is a top-ranked wrestler in Class AA and was also a state champion at 113 pounds for the Bison last season.

The only other defeat for Brenna came when the Ponies traveled to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to compete in the Tri-State tournament, which is one of the most competitive and prestigious meets in the Northwest, featuring wrestlers from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming and Montana. And even though he lost in the semifinals, Brenna still managed a third-place finish, which was the best of any Havre wrestler that weekend.

Yet, those losses were just minor setbacks in what has been a tremendous season for Brenna, who showed just how ready he is to claim his second individual state championship at the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula back on Jan. 17, when he finished first by pinning Cole Snyder of Ronan in 5:31. His first-place finish was the only one of the weekend for the Ponies and helped Havre capture the team championship by dethroning GFH, the three-time defending champion.

"Besides those two losses, which were close matches, one was in four overtimes, it's gone pretty well," Brenna said of his senior season. "I think I am in pretty good shape and I have been working pretty hard to get back into the state championship."

Yet, the mission for Brenna during the 2014-15 season is not to win invitational tournaments — even prestigious ones like the Jug Beck — his goal is to get back to the winner's circle Saturday night at the All-State wrestling championships in Billings at the Metra.

State wrestling is the premier high school sporting event in Montana and while he got a taste of what it was like to be an individual champion in 2013, as well as being part of team championships in 2013 and 2014, the goal and the mindset for Brenna remains the same — capturing his second individual state championship, and in his last attempt.

"You want to help your team but you also want to get yourself to the state championship level," Brenna said. "Over the years, I have had a lot of great practice partners and great coaches and that has really helped me. It helped me win state as a sophomore and now hopefully I can get back to that state championship level this year."

Brenna, who has already committed to wrestle for NAIA wrestling power Grand View next fall, lives for wrestling. It's his sport and the success he's had only validates all the hard work he has put into it over the years. Yet, with his Havre wrestling career less than two weeks from being completed, the senior still has some unfinished business to attend to.

The journey back to finals at state started for Brenna as soon as he lost to Jones last season and after all the work, time, energy and sacrifices he has made to get back to that point, he refuses to entertain the idea of settling for anything less than a state championship.

"It will be great if I can get back to the championship and win it, that's what I've been working towards," Brenna said. "I also want to the help the team win a third in a row, but I've never thought about losing. I don't ever think about losing, going into any of my matches. I always think about winning because I think I can win them all."

Brenna’s final push to reclaim the state championship will begin Saturday when the Blue Ponies wrestle at the Central A Divisional in Livingston. Then, it’s on to the Class A state meet, which will be held Feb. 13-14 at the Billings Metra.