ROSSVILLE — It was easy to chalk the feelings up as a brother just being proud, or perhaps even just hopeful.
Or maybe Cody Lambotte really knew.
Before his younger brother Tagen Lambotte had ever wrestled one high school match, Cody was envisioning big things for his sibling. There weren’t loud and boastful claims, but rather just a mention here or there.
“Keep an eye on him,” Cody Lambotte would say. “He’s going to be a good one.”
Cody was dead on, though Tagen’s accomplishments may have even exceeded his wildest dreams. A three-time state champion already, Tagen Lambotte stands on the brink of becoming just the 30th wrestler in state history to win four state titles.
History may await, but Lambotte said this weekend’s Class 3-2-1A state tournament in Hays isn’t much different than the season-opening Mission Valley Invitational.
“My expectations the first meet of the year were to win; my expectations the last meet of the year are to win,” Lambotte said. “And my expectations are to wrestle at a high level no matter the meet. Obviously, the stakes are higher this weekend, but I just have to go out and wrestle the way I expect myself to wrestle.
“Anybody can be beat, but I feel like I should win,” Tagen said, not with an air of cockiness, but rather with a strong conviction that has been steeled by countless hours of work. “That’s the attitude you have to take. If you think there’s only a chance, you’re going to hold back and not go all out. You just have to step on the mat, lace them up and get after it.”
* * * * *
Wrestling wasn’t even a sport Tagen Lambotte was sure he liked when he first began. He didn’t immediately see success, taking his lumps early and often.
But he never really thought about quitting, and once he decided to stick with the sport, Lambotte only knew one way to go about it. All out.
In Rossville coach Curt Brecheisen’s mind, it’s that trait that has separated Lambotte from being just a good wrestler to among the state’s elite.
“His work ethic and attention to details are second to none,” Brecheisen said. “Those little bitty things he will do over and over and over. In junior high, he was good, but not where he’s at now. But he’s paid attention to every little detail of skill work and if he doesn’t hit something just right, he works until he does.
“His family’s work ethic is top notch. In college, Cody was one of the hardest-working guys I’d heard about. I knew how hard he worked in the practice room and at college and that carried over to Tagen. He’s done nothing but worked his tail off since he’s been here.”
Tagen doesn’t know any other way, to be honest.
“I feel if you train aggressive every single day, one match is nothing,” he said. “When I’m in the room, I’m aggressive. If I’m lifting weights, I’m aggressive. If I’m running to lose weight, I’m aggressive. Every single drill or sprint or whatever, I’m doing it aggressively and that carries over to your matches. It’s muscle memory and your brain just clicks that when you’re on the mat, it’s time to go.”
Cody indeed has been a big influence on Tagen’s success. An accomplished high school wrestler himself with 133 career victories and two state medals, including a runner-up finish in 2002, Cody learned what it took to be successful on the mat. He went on to wrestle for a National Junior College Championship team at Labette County and then for Division II champion Nebraska-Kearney.
And once he returned to Rossville, Cody began imparting everything he learned to Tagen, who is 10 years younger. An assistant coach for the Bulldogs, Cody has been there every step of the way, serving as both a mentor and critic, as well as being a brother.
“When it comes to training, he’s never, ever fought me on anything,” Cody said. “He’s coachable and understands that everything I ever do, it’s to his benefit. ... My brother understands that and we’re always trying to build and get better.”
“He pretty much brought me up from nothing,” Tagen said. “He’s been a driving force. He ground it into my head that I was going to go in as a freshman and not expect anything less than to be the best. The workouts he puts me through and the training we do, that gives me the confidence to win.
“We butt heads a lot, like most brothers probably do, have our arguments and choice words. But at the end of the day, we love each other and we both know that we’re on the same page.”
* * * * *
The pages of Tagen’s resume are impressive, resulting in a scholarship for Division I powerhouse Iowa.
He went 48-2 as a freshman, capturing the 135-pound state title with an 11-7 win over Norton’s Brett Terrell, a senior. Despite battling a shoulder injury as a sophomore, Lambotte still managed a 34-1 mark and took a 3-2 win over Marysville’s Eddie Creek in the 145 state finals.
Halfway home to becoming a four-time state champion, Lambotte hardly let off the throttle and arguably even stepped it up a notch or two. He rolled to a 41-1 record as a junior, toying with Sedgwick’s Nic Johnson in the 145-pound title match on his way to a dominating 20-8 victory.
This year, he will take a 37-1 record at 152 pounds to the state meet, his lone loss came to Lansing’s Michael Olsen, the state’s top-ranked 145-pouner who stepped up a weight class to face Lambotte at the Eudora Tournament of Champions.
Lambotte admitted that loss stung, denying him a chance to become an undefeated state champion for the first time in his career. Yet he also acknowledged he took it as a chance to get better.
“That loss hurt, but I made some changes that needed to be changed,” Lambotte said of the 3-2 loss. “It showed some weaker points in my wrestling. I hated for it to happen, but it kind of lit a match under me.”
Since, Lambotte has been pretty much unstoppable. He won the prestigious Basehor-Linwood Invitational for the first time ever, beating Aquinas’ Isaac Dulgarian — the state’s top-ranked 160-pounder — in the finals. He also has beaten Andover Central’s Paul Suhr, No. 1 in 4A at 152.
“I love big matches and I love getting up for that,” said Lambotte, who is 160-5 in his career. “Wrestling guys like that is what I love. I put myself on that level and those are the guys I want to beat. I love the limelight.”
* * * * *
The spotlight will definitely be on Lambotte this weekend at Fort Hays State’s Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The bracket sets up nicely with four of the wrestlers ranked Nos. 2 through 6 in the final KWCA poll on the opposite side. Only Norton’s Mike Kasson, who is No. 5 and upset previously unbeaten Clint Rogers of Smith Center last week at regionals, would seem to stand between Lambotte and the finals.
Some would call that pressure. Not Lambotte.
“I put pressure on myself to perform the way I expect to perform,” he said. “That’s the only pressure I feel because I’m my biggest critic.”
It’s something Brecheisen sees all the time.
“He gets upset with himself if he doesn’t perform up to his expectations,” Brecheisen said. “If he doesn’t hit a move, even in practice, he’s mad at himself. I think a lot of people take that the wrong way, as he’s being a bad sport or something along those lines. But it’s nothing to do with that and everything to do with expectations of himself.
“He wants to do everything right and be the best he can be.”
And if that results in yet another state title?
“It means I did my job,” Lambotte said. “If I’m doing everything right ... there’s no reason I shouldn’t expect to win.”
Or maybe Cody Lambotte really knew.
Before his younger brother Tagen Lambotte had ever wrestled one high school match, Cody was envisioning big things for his sibling. There weren’t loud and boastful claims, but rather just a mention here or there.
“Keep an eye on him,” Cody Lambotte would say. “He’s going to be a good one.”
Cody was dead on, though Tagen’s accomplishments may have even exceeded his wildest dreams. A three-time state champion already, Tagen Lambotte stands on the brink of becoming just the 30th wrestler in state history to win four state titles.
History may await, but Lambotte said this weekend’s Class 3-2-1A state tournament in Hays isn’t much different than the season-opening Mission Valley Invitational.
“My expectations the first meet of the year were to win; my expectations the last meet of the year are to win,” Lambotte said. “And my expectations are to wrestle at a high level no matter the meet. Obviously, the stakes are higher this weekend, but I just have to go out and wrestle the way I expect myself to wrestle.
“Anybody can be beat, but I feel like I should win,” Tagen said, not with an air of cockiness, but rather with a strong conviction that has been steeled by countless hours of work. “That’s the attitude you have to take. If you think there’s only a chance, you’re going to hold back and not go all out. You just have to step on the mat, lace them up and get after it.”
* * * * *
Wrestling wasn’t even a sport Tagen Lambotte was sure he liked when he first began. He didn’t immediately see success, taking his lumps early and often.
But he never really thought about quitting, and once he decided to stick with the sport, Lambotte only knew one way to go about it. All out.
In Rossville coach Curt Brecheisen’s mind, it’s that trait that has separated Lambotte from being just a good wrestler to among the state’s elite.
“His work ethic and attention to details are second to none,” Brecheisen said. “Those little bitty things he will do over and over and over. In junior high, he was good, but not where he’s at now. But he’s paid attention to every little detail of skill work and if he doesn’t hit something just right, he works until he does.
“His family’s work ethic is top notch. In college, Cody was one of the hardest-working guys I’d heard about. I knew how hard he worked in the practice room and at college and that carried over to Tagen. He’s done nothing but worked his tail off since he’s been here.”
Tagen doesn’t know any other way, to be honest.
“I feel if you train aggressive every single day, one match is nothing,” he said. “When I’m in the room, I’m aggressive. If I’m lifting weights, I’m aggressive. If I’m running to lose weight, I’m aggressive. Every single drill or sprint or whatever, I’m doing it aggressively and that carries over to your matches. It’s muscle memory and your brain just clicks that when you’re on the mat, it’s time to go.”
Cody indeed has been a big influence on Tagen’s success. An accomplished high school wrestler himself with 133 career victories and two state medals, including a runner-up finish in 2002, Cody learned what it took to be successful on the mat. He went on to wrestle for a National Junior College Championship team at Labette County and then for Division II champion Nebraska-Kearney.
And once he returned to Rossville, Cody began imparting everything he learned to Tagen, who is 10 years younger. An assistant coach for the Bulldogs, Cody has been there every step of the way, serving as both a mentor and critic, as well as being a brother.
“When it comes to training, he’s never, ever fought me on anything,” Cody said. “He’s coachable and understands that everything I ever do, it’s to his benefit. ... My brother understands that and we’re always trying to build and get better.”
“He pretty much brought me up from nothing,” Tagen said. “He’s been a driving force. He ground it into my head that I was going to go in as a freshman and not expect anything less than to be the best. The workouts he puts me through and the training we do, that gives me the confidence to win.
“We butt heads a lot, like most brothers probably do, have our arguments and choice words. But at the end of the day, we love each other and we both know that we’re on the same page.”
* * * * *
The pages of Tagen’s resume are impressive, resulting in a scholarship for Division I powerhouse Iowa.
He went 48-2 as a freshman, capturing the 135-pound state title with an 11-7 win over Norton’s Brett Terrell, a senior. Despite battling a shoulder injury as a sophomore, Lambotte still managed a 34-1 mark and took a 3-2 win over Marysville’s Eddie Creek in the 145 state finals.
Halfway home to becoming a four-time state champion, Lambotte hardly let off the throttle and arguably even stepped it up a notch or two. He rolled to a 41-1 record as a junior, toying with Sedgwick’s Nic Johnson in the 145-pound title match on his way to a dominating 20-8 victory.
This year, he will take a 37-1 record at 152 pounds to the state meet, his lone loss came to Lansing’s Michael Olsen, the state’s top-ranked 145-pouner who stepped up a weight class to face Lambotte at the Eudora Tournament of Champions.
Lambotte admitted that loss stung, denying him a chance to become an undefeated state champion for the first time in his career. Yet he also acknowledged he took it as a chance to get better.
“That loss hurt, but I made some changes that needed to be changed,” Lambotte said of the 3-2 loss. “It showed some weaker points in my wrestling. I hated for it to happen, but it kind of lit a match under me.”
Since, Lambotte has been pretty much unstoppable. He won the prestigious Basehor-Linwood Invitational for the first time ever, beating Aquinas’ Isaac Dulgarian — the state’s top-ranked 160-pounder — in the finals. He also has beaten Andover Central’s Paul Suhr, No. 1 in 4A at 152.
“I love big matches and I love getting up for that,” said Lambotte, who is 160-5 in his career. “Wrestling guys like that is what I love. I put myself on that level and those are the guys I want to beat. I love the limelight.”
* * * * *
The spotlight will definitely be on Lambotte this weekend at Fort Hays State’s Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The bracket sets up nicely with four of the wrestlers ranked Nos. 2 through 6 in the final KWCA poll on the opposite side. Only Norton’s Mike Kasson, who is No. 5 and upset previously unbeaten Clint Rogers of Smith Center last week at regionals, would seem to stand between Lambotte and the finals.
Some would call that pressure. Not Lambotte.
“I put pressure on myself to perform the way I expect to perform,” he said. “That’s the only pressure I feel because I’m my biggest critic.”
It’s something Brecheisen sees all the time.
“He gets upset with himself if he doesn’t perform up to his expectations,” Brecheisen said. “If he doesn’t hit a move, even in practice, he’s mad at himself. I think a lot of people take that the wrong way, as he’s being a bad sport or something along those lines. But it’s nothing to do with that and everything to do with expectations of himself.
“He wants to do everything right and be the best he can be.”
And if that results in yet another state title?
“It means I did my job,” Lambotte said. “If I’m doing everything right ... there’s no reason I shouldn’t expect to win.”
