Athlete Profile: Wyatt Brandt

Shawano senior eyeing state berth, helping team to conference title

The Shawano Community High School wrestling team is seeking its third consecutive Bay Conference title this season. Senior Wyatt Brandt is one of the wrestlers leading the charge.

Through Jan. 10, Brandt had a 4-1 record on the season. Two of the wins were by pin, while another was by technical fall.

Brandt was an honorable mention at the 132-pound weight class in the latest Division 1 rankings released by wiwrestling.com.

Brandt advanced to sectionals as a junior and was one win shy of qualifying for state.

Q: When did your interest in wrestling begin?

A: My interest in wrestling began in fourth grade when my basketball career was not taking off to say the least, and my dad (Jay) offered me a sport that would allow me to control my own destiny despite my height or size. I liked that idea, so I joined wrestling and have been hooked ever since.

Q: What is your favorite part about the wrestling season?

A: My favorite part about the wrestling season is the taste of success as an individual and as a team. It is just nice knowing that I was a part of a great wrestling team and program.

Q: What has wrestling taught you over the years?

A: Wrestling has taught me that you can not just give up when things get hard. I have learned that things will get harder before they get easier, and if I want to be good at anything I do in life I need to put in the work to get to where I want to be.

Q: Do you have any individual goals you hope to achieve or team goals you want to help obtain by the end of this season?

A: I would like to make it to state this year

Q: What’s the biggest key to success for you and your team the rest of the season?

A: The biggest key for us is to keep the tempo up at practice so we are able to perform at full speed and strength from the start of the match to the end.

Q: You’ve been a part of the team’s last two Bay Conference titles. What’s it been like to have been one of the wrestlers that helped turned the program into what it is today?

A: It has been a lot of hard work and sweat in the practice room and most importantly the offseason going to all the summer camps I went to. It is nice to know that my hard work helped build a successful program that others are going to want to be a part of.

Q: Do you have any rituals you go through before a match?

A: There is nothing really special that I do. I stretch a little bit and tell myself that I’m going to go out there and control the match start to finish.

Q: What’s your favorite memory of competing on the Shawano wrestling team?

A: My favorite memory was winning our first Bay Conference championship as a team (in 2019), pinning in almost all of our matches.

Q: What are you going to miss most about high school wrestling?

A: The thing I will miss the most is going to a tournament and making it to the finals and having my entire team watching and cheering me on.

Q: Favorite TV show, movie and musical artist?

A: TV show — “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Movie — “Miracle.” Musical artist — Luke Combs.

Q: Name one thing about yourself that not many people know.

A: I like to spend most of my time outdoors at my cabin in Tigerton hunting everything nature has to offer and making firewood.

Q: What are some things you hope to accomplish after graduating high school?

A: I hope to earn a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering.

AT A GLANCE

Athlete: Wyatt Brandt

Sport: Wrestling

Weight class: 132

School: Shawano Community High School

Year: Senior