Brothers take championship
<p>Brothers Jake and Nathan Lapinski both won their divisions in the 140-pound weight class at the state tournament in Kalispell over the weekend.</p>
Over the weekend Jake and Nathan Lapinski made a splash at the state Little Guy Wrestling tournament in Kalispell.
Both brothers came into the state tournament looking to dominate and both brothers did just that.
“It felt really good, I won state in 2009 and this is the first time since then that I’ve done it,” Jake said. “It was almost surreal that me and my brother both won.”
Jake said his older brother Nathan is always helping him prior to matches and since both of them compete in the same weight class the two often sparred at practice when other wrestlers were missing.
“We wish we could bring it home,” Jake said. “But we don’t have a mat and you can’t use the concrete.”
Jake said he loves wrestling because “he gets to learn things and exercise” and the fifth grader plans on wrestling the next three years in Little Guy before moving on to high school wrestling.
For Nathan, the state championship came in his final year of eligibility for Little Guy Wrestling. The eighth grader finished second the last two years and finally winning the title was a dream come true.
“It’s my last year so it was my last chance and it was pretty good to win,” Nathan said. “It was a surreal moment and I even asked the referee if I had just won state.”
Nathan added that without the efforts of Coaches Charlie Crabb and Gary Tourtelotte the win would not have been possible – a sentiment that was echoed by Jake.
“They taught me so much technique and gave me so much support so they get a lot of the credit,” Nathan said. “Same thing with my family and teammates.”
Jake said both coaches “don’t let you screw around” in practice and both stress hard work and good sportsmanship.
During the tournament, Nathan said that although a lot of the wrestlers “were probably better than me,” he told himself he was going to do his best and win.
“It’s all mental,” Nathan said.
With both brothers committed to continuing their wrestling careers it is safe to say the future of Superior wrestling will thrive for years to come.