I was recently searching through some historic archives from my local newspapers the Greeley Tribune and the Denver Post, for articles related to some Colorado history projects. As I was searching, I got a random thought that maybe I ought to look myself up in the newspaper archives and see what is out there. So I searched “Luke Hanna,” and to my delight the archives had several of my historic high school wrestling photos.
From 2003-2006 I was a high school wrestler for Eaton High School. At the time it was a small school with mostly farm kids and sports were a major component of life in Eaton, Colorado. I was relatively successful at the sport so the local newspapers would capture photographs of me from time to time for their prep athletes page or occasionally on the front page.
Luke Hanna High School Championship Wrestling Photographs
This first photograph is from 2004 which was my sophomore year of high school. This high school wrestling photograph is from the state championship match. I was able to win this particular match and become a Colorado state champion as a high school sophomore. My opponent was from another small farm town near my hometown.
Unflattering High School Wrestling Photographs of Luke Hanna
These next couple of photographs were taken during a match that I lost. The story is this was another rival of mine from another small town in my area. During the match, I unexpectedly scored a big move and went up by a score of 5-0 early in the match. I basically got worked the rest of the way and ended up losing 11-6. The news reported on the match and some unflattering photos of me ended up in the newspaper.
As you can see in the first photograph, the match started out alright. I had control of my opponent and was winning.
As you can see, little by little my rival began to control me and gain points.
By the end of the match, I had been beat. As I said, I believe the score was 11-6. Unfortunately for me, this final photograph is hanging near the wrestling gym at the rival high school. It was one of those moments they were proud of and decided to commemorate it. Also unfortunate for me, the news thought it was noteworthy and placed this photo in the newspaper.
Final Thoughts on Finding these Historic High School Wrestling Photographs
It was kind of fun finding these high school wrestling photographs. I still have vivid memories of these moments nearly 20 years later. As I mentioned sports were a big deal in my hometown, which is captured by the fact that newspapers found it worthy at the time to report on my successes, and my failures.
It was a strange experience to be a teenager in high school and have reporters asking my questions for the news. It made me feel like a bit of a celebrity at times. I saw that there were some articles in the newspaper archives so I will likely pay to download those articles, because I am interested in seeing what kind of quotes I gave to these reporters as a mischievous teen.
I will update this post once I decide to download the print articles. Until then check out this analysis of why the Nigerian women’s wrestling team has been so successful.
Wrestling in Nigeria: Nigeria’s Dominant Women’s Wrestling Team
