Senior Spotlight: Christian Middleton-Perez the true Warrior of Walnut Grove.

Senior wrestler, Christian Middleton-Perez, shares his final thoughts on wrestling as he gets ready to say goodbye to his high school career. 
​by Ane'J Beers and Brooklyn Hayes

​Senior wrestler, Christian Middleton-Perez, shares his final thoughts on wrestling as he gets ready to say goodbye to his high school career, “I’m hoping we can bring back home a regional dual trophy and just keep going from there. That would be the perfect end to this season.” While Christian was expressing his love for wrestling, we couldn’t help but wonder what got him into it. Christian answered, “Mostly my friends. I wasn’t here freshman year to wrestle because I was virtual learning, so I came back sophomore year and I wanted to do basketball, but instead took up wrestling. I just wanted to try something new and I kept wrestling and eventually grew a love for it.”

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​Christian went on to tell us that there are two specific teammates that really drive him: Zeb Dawkins and Brandy Rangel. Brandy Rangel Mendoza (12) shared with us who Christian is to him, “As the years have gone by, his mentality has gotten better. He has started working a lot harder and he helps me out a lot whenever I lose a match pretty badly or something, he always motivates me and I always motivate him. That’s just how we correlate… Almost like brothers.” Zeb Dawkins (11) adds to this, “He’s a really hard worker, he always does his workouts, and he’s always the loudest and most encouraging teammate on the bench. He doesn’t give up and is overall a good teammate and person.”

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Christian shares what wrestling means to him, “It means everything. Most people won’t see it as a life-changing sport, but it really is a life-changing sport.” He also shares what wrestling has impacted on him, “It's gotten me into better shape, it's improved my mindset, and it's improved my overall character.” Because Christian is so passionate about wrestling, he makes sure he is ready for practice and meets every day. “I always make sure to get as much sleep as I can, that could be from a good night's rest or just napping during the day, so that way I have energy for practice,” Christian elaborates. 
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Since wrestling has given Christian many valuable skills and assets over the last three years, he plans to take these perks with him next year when he plans to go to Athens Tech in Athens, Georgia. It’s going to be sad saying goodbye to Christian, but he will go far in life and will always hold onto the memories and lessons he gained from Walnut Grove Wrestling. 

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