Major decision takes Troupe to rugby pitch

Sawyer Troupe reached the pinnacle of high school wrestling on Feb. 10, pinning Bozeman High’s Hudson Wiens in 2 minutes, 37 seconds in the State AA heavyweight finals.

Weighing 217 pounds, Troupe went unbeaten his senior season despite giving away serious ballast to opponents — Wiens, he said, weighed in at 278 at State. But now he had his first state championship, in his final match as a Flathead High grappler. The wrestling programs at Wisconsin, South Dakota State and Cal State Bakersfield had shown interest. It was an exciting time. And then. ...  

“Last second I was like, ‘You know what, I’ve been wrestling going on 13, 14 years,’ “ Troupe said this week. “Maybe I’ll do something different.”