By Blake Chadwick 

From the age of four, Bishop Carroll junior Sam Duling has eaten, slept, and breathed wrestling. Now as a teenager, he is seeing his hard work come to fruition. 

“Coaching an athlete like Sam is every coach’s dream,” wrestling coach Kyle Cline said. “He works extremely hard all the time and does not give up. Sam is a wrestler and an individual you can count on to get something done and done the right way the first time.”

Duling is a special type of wrestler who has the ability to remain unsatisfied with where he is. His competitive edge on and off the mat is why he has only scratched the surface of where he could one day be. 

“Sam’s approach is that he is never out of the fight,” Cline said. “Don’t ever count him out, even when he is down in a match. His mentality is, ‘It’s not how good I am, but rather how good can I get.’”

After his season ended with a third-place finish in Class 5A, Duling wasn’t satisfied. But as usual, he didn’t stop working and was selected to represent Team Kansas on the national stage.  

“This kind of tournament is another opportunity for him to learn, grow, and develop into the wrestler he wants to be,” Cline said. “Taking advantage of these opportunities is part of his journey.”

Team Kansas went undefeated and brought back gold.

Once again, Duling didn’t stop working as he began to prepare for Folkstyle Nationals, where he ended up being a match away from becoming a back-to-back All-American.

“Getting chosen for the All-Class team to represent Kansas was a dream come true,” Duling said. “It was great to scrap with some of the best dudes in the country, and I definitely won’t forget it any time soon.” 

Through all of the awards and opportunities that have come Duling’s way, he continues to have fun, and he knows that he is not where he wants to be yet.