By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY – Progression and Braden Culp go hand-in-hand.
Culp spent his freshman and sophomore seasons trying to crack the starting lineup for the Wildcats, knowing at some point he would capitalize. His hard work and effort would pay off.
He qualified for the Class 5A State Tournament as a junior, but was knocked out one win short of placing and just shy of his personal goal. His senior season provided one last shot and he wasn’t going to let it slip by without taking things one step further.
Culp’s effort and development over the last four seasons was rewarded Saturday night at Jim Norick Arena, as the senior capped his high school career with a silver medal after finishing runner-up at 170 pounds in Piedmont’s third-place State Tournament run.
“It meant so much to me to go out there and wrestle my best and leave it out on the mat,” Culp said. “I would say I wasn’t really that great as my freshman and sophomore year, but I knew I had to work pretty hard if I wanted to get on that podium and I gave it everything I had to do it.
“And I do feel like I left it all out there. My senior season, I had to. I definitely don’t have any regrets.”
Culp opened the tournament with a 4-0 win over Bishop Kelly’s Gabe Chesbro before knocking off Skiatook’s Hunter Hall in the semifinals. Culp stood his ground early against Lawton MacArthur’s Christian Maldanado, returning state runner-up, but couldn’t capitalize on scoring chances in an eventual 3-2 decision.
“I wrestled him (Maldanado) a couple of times this year,” Culp said. “The gameplan was to go out there and weather the storm at the beginning and look for a take down. I just couldn’t quite get him and couldn’t quite score. It was pretty tough.”
Piedmont coach Erik Ford watched Culp’s growth first-hand over the last four years. The ninth-year head man praised the senior for his ability on the mat and character off it.
“He’s come so far these last couple of years,” Ford said. “To go from a sophomore not even making the starting lineup to junior year qualifying for State and then getting to wrestle on Satruday night one year later, as a coach that’s all you can ask for.
“I’m super proud of him as a person, not just an athlete. He’s a great example for our team and younger guys to strive to reach your goals. He’ll be missed going forward.”
Culp points to one main reason for this year’s success.
“Not giving up, really,” he said. “Coming in every day and practicing every day is hard, but I never quit and never let myself give up. That’s what makes this special. Being able to get on the podium after all of the effort and all the fun I’ve had meant a lot.”
Culp finished his senior year going 39-11 with a fourth-place finish at the Mid-America Nationals, a runner-up finish at the Chuck West Invitational and a runner-up finish at the 2019 Class 5A West Regional in Duncan.
