On Feb. 24, junior Triston Wills became a state champion, winning at 160 pounds at Hartman Arena.

However, this was not his most successful season. As a sophomore, Wills had a lot of obstacles he had to jump through to get where he is today.

During summer wrestling before his sophomore year he was wrestling in the Cadet National Duals. That’s where things took a turn.

“I hit my head on the back of the mat. It started hurting pretty bad,” Wills said.

Athletes often get concussions, especially in contact sports, so it took two weeks before he realized something was wrong.

“I remember waking up, and I had a really bad headache. I went to the bathroom, and started throwing up. So I called my mom, and she took me to the ER,” Wills said.

He had a CAT scan of his brain and doctors found an Arachnoid Cyst, which is spinal fluid in between the brain and the skull.

That’s when he got the devastating news — he would never compete in a contact sport again.

“I started bawling, instantly. My parents told me not to think about it, and just try to think about getting better,” Wills said.

After surgery to remove the cyst, Wills went to rehabilitation for seven months trying to rebuild his strength.

“I did everything in my power to get back on the mat,” Wills said.

After his rehab, and many check ups, he was cleared to compete.

“When he said everything went good and I’m healthy and I don’t need to come back, I knew right there I was going to wrestle” Wills said.

He came back and picked up right where he left off. He started conditioning again and practicing with his teammates.

Just when he thought he was in the clear though he broke his ankle.

“That was a huge heartbreaker,” he said. “I was just in so much disbelief. In my mind I’m thinking, ‘it’s finally my time. I get to wrestle again. I’ll be able to finish this season.’

“Then I break my ankle, and I’m like, ‘God, is this really what I’m supposed to be dealing with? Is this really my sport?’” Wills said.

After being out of the wrestling season for even longer he knew he’d have to work hard to get where he wanted to be.

“After I got third at regionals I knew what my conditioning was like. How I was going to have to change things up in order to compete and place,” Wills said.

He knew he was going up against competition that didn’t take the time off that he did. Other wrestlers were pushing while he was recovering.

“I wasn’t ready at all. I did the best I could. I came out and took third which wasn’t what I wanted, but it was the best thing that could’ve happened,” Wills said.

Wills took third in Class 6A as a sophomore.