By Chris Dietrich, on special assignment with VYPE Magazine
Trae Rios is a 3x State Qualifier, 2x State Placer, Fargo All America. Trae has committed to the University of Oklahoma. Trae is a leader on and off the mat. Trae has over 300 hours of community service during his HS career and almost 100 this year! – coach Will Evans.
VYPE: What made you decide to pick up wrestling as a sport?
Trae Rios: Wrestling has always been a part of my life. I wouldn’t say I chose the sport because my dad started me when I was 5. I would just say I fell in love with it, so that’s why I still do it.
VYPE: What has driven you so hard to accomplish many awards, like becoming a state qualifier three times and placing at state two times?
TR: My competitive nature has driven me so hard. I also trust the Lord with everything I do, and I think his plans are for me to compete at the highest level in this sport.
VYPE: What events or moments stuck out to you over your career as a wrestler?
TR: The moments that stuck out to me were all the team events that we attended. Not even the wrestling, but all the time you spend with your teammates. It really is like a family with how much I’m around all of these guys.
VYPE: What makes your life so different from other student-athletes?
TR: What makes my life so different from other student-athletes is that I don’t like to be complacent. I constantly want to improve myself on and off the mat. The other thing that I think separates me is that I truly believe in being a student before being an athlete. The classroom really does matter, and I take it seriously.
VYPE: Multiple people have commented on your 300-plus hours of community service. What made you want to serve your community so often?
TR: We do so much community service as individuals and as a team. We believe in doing what’s best for the community and doing the right thing. If it weren’t for Coach Evans, I wouldn’t be the man I would be today. He truly believes in us constantly bettering ourselves and helping everyone, so I would have to thank Coach Evans for pushing me to help the community.
VYPE: You were accepted into OU for this upcoming school year; why OU? What are you going to OU for?
TR: OU has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, and when I got the opportunity to visit the school, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I genuinely believe that OU is the right place to be. I’ll be attending OU to study physical therapy.
Photo by Chris Dietrich
