Building character on the mat, times two
Mason Enquist keeping his focus on finishing strong in one of his matches.
Connor and Mason Enquist undoubtedly have a lot of things in common. They are brothers; they live in the Estates at Buffalo Ridge; they go to the same school and only one year separates them in age. But the thing that could bring them the closest is their love and talent for wrestling.
Connor is in sixth grade; Mason is in seventh.
They wrestle with the Golden Eagle Wrestling Club and at Rocky Heights Middle School (RHMS), and they are already winning championships. The brothers each recently won titles in their weight classes at the RHMS district championship tournament.
Their coaches recently shared that they do not recall brothers ever winning championships at districts in the same year.
Connor said, “The thing I love about wrestling is the fact that you are one on one. It is no easy task to wrestle; it is just yourself on the mat wrestling as hard as you can.”
And Mason shared, “It feels good to win. It also makes you a stronger person and makes other sports seems easier in comparison.”
Their dad, Jeff, is proud of his sons, but not surprised their early successes as it is part of the family DNA. “My brother and I wrestled together from elementary through high school,” he said. “I wrestled at West Point, and my brother-in-law wrestled at the University of Oregon. Mason and Connor’s cousins are wrestlers in Washington state.”
But Jeff knows having wrestling run in the family does not mean anything if the mindset, skills and commitment are not there.
With Connor and Mason, they are. Jeff added that his sons both lost matches during the dual season by pin, a move where the attacker pins a shoulder to the mat. “To come to the district tournament knowing you might face someone who beat you during the regular season takes a lot of courage. To come away with the victory takes resilience, added Jeff.”
And what they are seeing on the mat is just the payoff for what Jeff says he and his wife are seeing in their sons’ character.
Jeff said, “The most enjoyable part for us is seeing how the kids are each other’s biggest fans. When Connor won his finals match, Mason was the first one out there jumping up and down to celebrate. And the same when Mason won his final. Pretty special memory; something we will always remember.”
Connor Enquist getting instructions on his next match with one of his coaches.
By Karen Leigh; photos courtesy of the Enquist family
