By Chris Cox
Shawnee High School senior Beau Skelton he been wrestling for six years now thanks in large part to a former football coach.
“When I was in 7th grade, my football coach at the time convinced me to join,” he says. “Now he is my head coach.”
Skelton, who wrestles at 215 pounds, has set some pretty high goals for himself and his team this year.
“My individual goals this season are be a state qualifier and state placer,” he says. “For my team, I want us to win districts and would like half of our team to qualify for state.”
While wrestling is a sport that requires a lot of commitment, Skelton still finds time to prepare for his future by taking classes at Gordon Cooper Technology Center.
“I’m involved in the Criminal Justice program,” he says. “I’ve always been interested in law enforcement and some of my family members have also been involved in law enforcement. I think this program will help me become a police officer one day.”
Beyond helping him reach his goal of becoming a police officer, Skelton says the relationships he’s built in the program are very important to him.
“I enjoy time with my class,” he says. “They’re all like family at this point and I really like talking with them.”
Skelton’s instructor, Troy Thompson, is confident that Beau will be able to reach his goal of becoming a police officer one day.
“Beau is a serious and dedicated student,” Thompson says. “He is an A+ student and devotes a great deal of time to his academic career. I believe that Beau will do amazing in the Criminal Justice & Emergency Services field. He has displayed a high interest in going into the law enforcement field. Beau will succeed in this field because he is a truly caring and gifted individual. He also possesses great leadership qualities.”
With much of Skelton’s time filled up with wrestling and classes at Gordon Cooper, Beau doesn’t have much time for other activities, but he does make time to spend quality time with his family and friends.
After high school, Beau plans to attend college and wrestle collegiately, although he is unsure of where he wants to go at this point.
