- December 25, 2024
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Tyson Mills wrestles in the consolation semifinals Jan. 29 at the Flagler Rotary tournament. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas senior wrestler Tyson Mills was ranked No. 1 in his weight class in Class 2A earlier this season, but he might not be the best wrestler in his family.
Of course, there is a lot of competition, starting with his father, Abe, who was his first coach, and including his five brothers and sisters. Mariah, a freshman, has qualified for state. Tyson and Jordan are expected to join her there.
I started when I was about 11. That's when I really got into it.
I just really like the environment of wrestling. I like to win. And I like being with my siblings out there.
He has, but not in an actual tournament. We did wrestle in a tournament when we were in middle school, and I did win that, but now it’s tough, because we wrestle in high school all the time in practice. And depending on the day, sometimes he’ll get the beating on me, and he’ll pin me a lot, but the first time was probably my sophomore year when he was in eighth grade.
Oh yeah, he’s tough. He's super aggressive.
It’s because I give him the best match. He beats up on everybody else way worse than he beats up on me, so I wrestle him a lot.
“We’re always wrestling in the house. Sometimes it’s ‘Don’t wrestle around the computers.’ ‘Or in the kitchen.’ But my dad’s always wrestling with us.”
TYSON MILLS
It felt good to be up there, but you know, you can't really let rankings get to your head. I’m not ranked number one anymore. I’m ranked third now, so it's cool, and it’s postseason now, so I have to keep winning.
I faced the number one guy, Nick Hejke from Mosley. I faced him at Flagler Rotary, and he beat me (13-2). I made some mistakes. I’ll have to face him again at the region.
The goal is to be top two. I want to have a medal around my neck, at least.
Actually, after the season's over I’m going to take a two-year mission to Fiji and serve the Lord. I have my associate degree, so that has me set up a little ahead for college. So, I’ll try to become a transfer student to go to (Brigham Young University).
Honestly, that’s a good question. I would say myself, but Jordan, he's just as tough as me, and he's getting tougher. And he's just a sophomore. So, he has a lot of potential. Mariah, she just started wrestling, and she's already ranked top 10 in the state. I didn't get ranked until my junior year, almost at the end of the season. So, I think they both definitely have more potential than me. But if I had to pick out one of them, I would probably say Jordan.
We’re always wrestling in the house. Sometimes it’s “Don’t wrestle around the computers.” “Or in the kitchen.” But my dad’s always wrestling with us. But we can’t beat our dad. He’s pretty strong.
