In February, four high school wrestlers from Federal Way won state championships, cementing their names as some of the all-time great wrestlers from this area.
Now, a local second-grader is adding his name to the list of accomplished wrestlers after winning not one, but three state wrestling titles.
Nolan Gandert, a student at Enterprise Elementary, earned the Washington State Wrestling Association Triple Crown Award in May. He conquered the competition in freestyle, folkstyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
“I’m the first one from Federal Way to ever get a triple crown, my dad says,” Nolan said. “It was exciting. Super exciting.”
He competed at the Chuck Bullard Memorial WSWA Folkstyle State Championship in February to earn his first state championship, competing then in the 55-pound bantam division.
After a first round bye, he would pin his first two opponents. He earned a 16-1 technical fall and a 10-0 major victory in the next two rounds to reach the finals. A pinfall in 40 seconds sealed his state championship win.
“It’s always in the 20s [of February], so I always say, ‘I must get a birthday present for myself,” said Nolan.
Just three months later on May 7 at the WSWA Freestyle Championships, Nolan won the tournament in similar fashion. He surrendered just three points to his opponent the entire tournament and pinned two opponents.
A day later he was wrestling in the WSWA Greco-Roman Championships. It was a smaller tournament where he only needed three victories to win the title, but that didn’t stop him from dominating the competition.
He pinned his first opponent in 12 seconds. That was followed by two 10-0 technical falls to win the title.
“These past two seasons, his work ethic and his dedication, I don’t understand where it comes from,” said Nolan’s father and coach, Larry Gandert. “He works harder than kids twice his age. We have 16-year-old kids in the room who work half as hard.”
Not only is he an excellent wrestler, he’s excelled in the classroom. His mother, Kirah Gandert, says he was referred to as a “highly capable student.”
Nolan took up wrestling at the age of 5. This year, he has a record of 67-1. Including out-of-state competitions, he was 83-10 with 48 pins.
In the 55-pound bantam class he’s ranked third in the nation. He has won seven state championships since he began wrestling, this year being the first time he’s won in all three styles.
At the age of 7, he won his first national championship. He has taken sixth in the world tournaments the last two years and has never lost a freestyle match.
Since losing his first ever Greco-Roman match two years ago, he has gone undefeated. Greco-Roman has since become his favorite of the three.
“You get to throw more,” said Nolan.
Wrestling runs in the Gandert family. While Larry Gandert did not wrestle himself, his daughter, Arianna, is a freshman wrestler at Todd Beamer and his eldest son, Elijah, is a wrestler for Illahee Middle School.
“My older son started wrestling to stay in shape for football,” said Larry Gandert. “Now he plays football just to take a break from wrestling. That’s what it’s turned into now.”
He and his siblings all wrestle for Mat Demon Wrestling Club, an elite team based in the South Puget Sound region. Larry Gandert believes joining the club took them to the next level.
“He has a partner that’s basically him that’s a year older and 10 pounds bigger,” said Larry Gandert. “So he gets his butt whooped every day at practice.”
They practice for two hours three times a week.
Nolan credits Elijah for getting him into wrestling and also helping him to get better. Elijah won the Federal Way middle school championships this year.
He also thanked his “dad, coach Sean, Coach Jess, teammates and Mom” for helping him succeed.
Last summer, Nolan set four goals for himself: win the Pierce County Junior Wrestling League, win state, place at the national competition in Reno, and win the triple crown.
He accomplished all four feats. At Reno, he wrestled against kids a year older than him and still made it to the podium.
“The pressure was on at the end, but he came through,” said Larry Gandert. “They’re pretty steep goals.”
Nolan says his favorite part of wrestling is going to tournaments and being able to hang out with his friends. In Denver, he finally got to play on a full-size pool table, which is one of his favorite memories.
They travel in a big RV as a team and get to bond together. The younger kids and older kids split the upstairs and downstairs.
He plans on staying with wrestling at least through college. His goal is to win an NCAA championship.
The next step for Nolan, however, is to participate in the Western Regionals tournament in Pocatello, Idaho, on June 19.
“Typically we stop now, but we’re going to keep working hard and go straight through,” Larry Gandert said. “It’s fun to watch. I’m super proud. He works really hard and pushes himself. He has good coaches and good partners. I couldn’t be more proud.”
If Nolan advances past the regional tournament, he will advance to the national tournament in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, in July.
In February, four high school wrestlers from Federal Way won state championships, cementing their names as some of the all-time great wrestlers from this area.
Now, a local second-grader is adding his name to the list of accomplished wrestlers after winning not one, but three state wrestling titles.
Nolan Gandert, a student at Enterprise Elementary, earned the Washington State Wrestling Association Triple Crown Award in May. He conquered the competition in freestyle, folkstyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
“I’m the first one from Federal Way to ever get a triple crown, my dad says,” Nolan said. “It was exciting. Super exciting.”
He competed at the Chuck Bullard Memorial WSWA Folkstyle State Championship in February to earn his first state championship, competing then in the 55-pound bantam division.
After a first round bye, he would pin his first two opponents. He earned a 16-1 technical fall and a 10-0 major victory in the next two rounds to reach the finals. A pinfall in 40 seconds sealed his state championship win.
“It’s always in the 20s [of February], so I always say, ‘I must get a birthday present for myself,” said Nolan.
Just three months later on May 7 at the WSWA Freestyle Championships, Nolan won the tournament in similar fashion. He surrendered just three points to his opponent the entire tournament and pinned two opponents.
A day later he was wrestling in the WSWA Greco-Roman Championships. It was a smaller tournament where he only needed three victories to win the title, but that didn’t stop him from dominating the competition.
He pinned his first opponent in 12 seconds. That was followed by two 10-0 technical falls to win the title.
“These past two seasons, his work ethic and his dedication, I don’t understand where it comes from,” said Nolan’s father and coach, Larry Gandert. “He works harder than kids twice his age. We have 16-year-old kids in the room who work half as hard.”
Not only is he an excellent wrestler, he’s excelled in the classroom. His mother, Kirah Gandert, says he was referred to as a “highly capable student.”
Nolan took up wrestling at the age of 5. This year, he has a record of 67-1. Including out-of-state competitions, he was 83-10 with 48 pins.
In the 55-pound bantam class he’s ranked third in the nation. He has won seven state championships since he began wrestling, this year being the first time he’s won in all three styles.
At the age of 7, he won his first national championship. He has taken sixth in the world tournaments the last two years and has never lost a freestyle match.
Since losing his first ever Greco-Roman match two years ago, he has gone undefeated. Greco-Roman has since become his favorite of the three.
“You get to throw more,” said Nolan.
Wrestling runs in the Gandert family. While Larry Gandert did not wrestle himself, his daughter, Arianna, is a freshman wrestler at Todd Beamer and his eldest son, Elijah, is a wrestler for Illahee Middle School.
“My older son started wrestling to stay in shape for football,” said Larry Gandert. “Now he plays football just to take a break from wrestling. That’s what it’s turned into now.”
He and his siblings all wrestle for Mat Demon Wrestling Club, an elite team based in the South Puget Sound region. Larry Gandert believes joining the club took them to the next level.
“He has a partner that’s basically him that’s a year older and 10 pounds bigger,” said Larry Gandert. “So he gets his butt whooped every day at practice.”
They practice for two hours three times a week.
Nolan credits Elijah for getting him into wrestling and also helping him to get better. Elijah won the Federal Way middle school championships this year.
He also thanked his “dad, coach Sean, Coach Jess, teammates and Mom” for helping him succeed.
Last summer, Nolan set four goals for himself: win the Pierce County Junior Wrestling League, win state, place at the national competition in Reno, and win the triple crown.
He accomplished all four feats. At Reno, he wrestled against kids a year older than him and still made it to the podium.
“The pressure was on at the end, but he came through,” said Larry Gandert. “They’re pretty steep goals.”
Nolan says his favorite part of wrestling is going to tournaments and being able to hang out with his friends. In Denver, he finally got to play on a full-size pool table, which is one of his favorite memories.
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