A few years ago, a seventh grader by the name of Braiden Ruffin stood in head wrestling coach Dale Hall’s office at Adam’s Middle School. In the office is a picture of Hall embracing the 2012, 145-pound state champion Zack Denney (’12) after his championship match. Hall told Ruffin that when he was in high school, after he won a state championship, there would be a similar photo for him too.

Ruffin defeated senior Isaac O’Dell of Lincoln East in the Class A, 170-pound state championship on Feb. 20. The championship was a rematch of two prior matches this season. Ruffin lost both matches against O’Dell earlier this year, but he wasn’t discouraged. “Both times I didn’t wrestle well. I knew I just had to put it all out there,” Ruffin said. “I had nothing to lose.”

Ruffin got out to a quick 4-1 lead, which put pressure on O’Dell early. That was a very important moment in the match according to Hall. “I knew we were in the driver’s seat, and the pressure was on the other side. Braiden was wrestling with a lot of confidence,” Hall said. Ruffin ended up winning the match 10-5.

After the win, Ruffin jumped in the air and waved his hands to the people from North Platte. Then he hugged his coach, just like Denney did in 2012. “I was extremely happy, and it was crazy that I was able to do it… [When I was standing on the podium] it felt like I finally did something that I’ve always wanted to do,” said Ruffin. As expected, Ruffin wasn’t the only one who was excited. “As a coach, you are very proud, but more than anything, I was happy for him. It’s one of those deals that all the hard work over all the years pays off and with all his hard work, he was able to reap the benefits,” Hall said with a smile.

Ruffin’s road to the finals was by no means easy. Hall said he had a tough draw. He had multiple close matches where he almost lost, but pulled it out in overtime. Ruffin said there were moments when he was scared he might lose. “My second round when he was up 5-0, I was thinking not again. I was going to lose in the quarterfinals again, but then I saw he was getting tired, so I was able to score more and more.” Hall said it was a sigh of relief when Ruffin won his first two matches, but he knew that the goal wasn’t just to medal. Ruffin had a lot of work to do and a tough semi-final match. “I think I probably aged a couple of years in those two days, but it was worth it,” said Hall. “I was scared and nervous and all those things.” After winning his first two matches in sudden death, Ruffin defeated Lincoln Southeast’s Justin Shaw via a 6-4 decision in the semi-finals. Ruffin saved his best for last, having his largest margin of victory of the tournament in the finals. “[In the earlier matches,] I was wrestling to win, not to dominate, I was a little nervous as well,” Ruffin said. “I think that held me back.”

Coming off a fourth place finish last year, Ruffin said his goal was to win it all. Ruffin was the first person mentioned when Hall was talking about improvement from last season. Hall had high praise for how Ruffin went from a fourth place finisher in the 152-pound weight class, to a state champion at 170. According to Hall, one aspect Ruffin has improved the most in is his escape game. Hall said, “He’s improved on getting out when on the bottom, and he made it harder for him to be scored on. [O’Dell] wasn’t able to keep him down in the final.” Hall also mentioned Ruffin’s improvement in mental toughness and confidence. Ruffin said if he could have told himself one thing heading into state last year, it would have been to believe in himself. Ruffin was very nervous heading into state last year. “I had never been a part of something like that, and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach,” he said.

Ruffin said his teammates and coaches had a tremendous impact on his season. “Without Dylan Petersen and Jayden Songster pushing me to get better, I don’t know if I would have won the state championship this year. Without Coach Hall and Coach Little, I wouldn’t have won,” he said.
Ruffin has good intentions for himself and his team heading into next year. He expects to win two more championships before graduating, and he wants his team to qualify for state duals.
Hall is optimistic, yet realistic, heading into next season. “First off, we have a lot of work to do in the off-season. We can’t go into next season without preparing now,” Hall said. “All of our work in the off-season will determine how well we do next season.” Both Hall and Ruffin recognize that success isn’t possible without hard work, and both are willing to do what it takes. Ruffin credits his championship to hard work. “I didn’t start out the best,” Ruffin said. “I had to work for it and get better and better and now I am where I am today.”

Ruffin took care of business. He won his state championship, and now there’s only one thing left to do: Go buy a new picture frame.