Repeat Performance: Catholic High’s Kristian Scott sets sights on another state wrestling title at a higher weight

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

It was a four-week period of the 2024 season where Catholic High’s longtime wrestling coach Tommy Prochaska witnessed the growth of Kristian Scott. 

In a career where Scott’s won nearly 90% of his matches, it was a low point of his standout wrestler Prochaska had rarely seen. Not only was the sophomore out of contention for a championship in the prestigious Louisiana Classics tournament, but he also didn’t even place in the meet.

Prochaska recalled sitting in the stands with a clearly dejected Scott, emphasizing that the regular season defeats wouldn’t define him and to trust his training and that everything would work itself out.

“That setback got him to understand what he needed to do,” Prochaska said. “You hear that you learn the most from your failures and for him, that’s been the case.”

Scott, the Division I state runner-up at 126 pounds as a freshman, never lost sight of his goals, trained harder, and got back on track. A last-second victory in the Baton Rouge City Championship was a reminder of his immense talent.

Four weeks after his lowest moment of the season Scott reached the pinnacle at the LHSAA’s state wrestling meet, defeating Jesuit’s J.P. Webre in a 5-2 decision for his first state title and was named the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler in the lower weight classes.

“The guy I wrestled in the final, I lost to him a few weeks before in the Louisiana Classics in a heartbreaking match,” Scott said. “I made a couple of dumb mistakes in that match and lost. It was stuff that I knew that I could fix. I went out there (in the state final) confident, knowing that I was the better wrestler, that it was my match to win.

“It felt good, but it felt kind of expected,” Scott said. “I don’t want to shoot for anything lower than my potential. It was a great feeling afterward. I knew I would be the guy that people are going to try to catch up to now. I’m the kind of person that’s always done well under pressure throughout high school.”

When the LHSAA stages its two-day state wrestling championship this Friday and Saturday at the Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City, Scott returns to the state’s biggest stage for the fourth time, but in a new role as reigning champion.

The biggest difference, though, is Scott moved up two weight classes this season to 157 pounds where he’s 39-2 with both of his losses to Bradley Williams of Spain Park High in Hoover, Ala.

“My nerves going into this state tournament are far less than the past two years,” said Scott, who was third in the Division III 106 weight class as a seventh grader for The Dunham School. “My freshman year it was a big, new stage for me. Last year I made the finals and had never won it before. Getting another chance to win that state title was a very big jump with (my) nerves for me.

“This year I’ve been dominant in my weight class,” Scott said. “I haven’t lost to anybody in state. I just feel like this is another tournament going forward. It’s nothing bigger, nothing smaller. It’s just another tournament with people in front of me.”

Beginning at an early age

Scott said a picture of himself, with his older brother and a friend, exists as the origin of a career that began at the age of 4.

They were all captured together in a frame in wrestling singlets and wrestling shoes on a mat with ear-to-ear smiles, a reflection of Scott’s dad Brandon, a standout wrestler for revered coach Dale Ketelsen at Belaire High School.

“That was the only sport we really tried,” Kristian said. “I played soccer and football for a couple of years and my brother did baseball, soccer, and football. He stuck with baseball, and I stuck with wrestling.”

Scott played soccer until he was 6 or 7 years of age when he won his first youth wrestling title where another memento, a picture jumping into his coach’s arms, serves as another reminder of his journey.

“That was a really fun moment,” he said. “After that, I started wrestling more year-round, going to national tournaments throughout the country, and stuck with it.”

He quickly learned the payoff for a sport with such a demand for training, conditioning, and proper eating habits was the thrill of victory.

“With all of the work you put in, you got to get something out of it,” Scott said. “That’s more rewarding than if you put in something less into something else and get something out of it.

“If you’re not all in, you’re going to hate your life,” Scott said. “You’re going to be miserable because it’s not an easy sport. You’re going to have a lot of sacrifices and a lot of determination. It’s definitely worth it.”

Scott evolved at such a rapid pace his skills were taking him outside his state’s borders to wrestle both regionally and nationally.

That pursuit eventually resulted in Scott wrestling upwards of 150 matches in one year with a goal of 100 wins. He reached 96. 

Scott acknowledged suffering from fatigue and the year after, he tapered back to one tournament in 2019-2000, but stepping back reinforced one thing.

He missed the sport.

“I was doing it so much,” he said. “It became a part of my life. It made me realize how much I missed it. I loved it even more.”

Although it’s not a prerequisite to wrestle for Catholic High, Prochaska it was clearly obvious Scott’s skills were advanced for an incoming freshman because of his previous experience through youth wrestling. 

“He had the ‘it’ factor,” he said of Scott. “One of his biggest assets is his strength. People look at him and say that he’s small (5-foot-7). He becomes a python when he grabs you and sucks you in.”

Preparing to endure a season

The preseason routine for Catholic High’s team members included lifting weights three days a week, coupled with conditioning twice a week. 

Six minutes represents the duration of a three-round high school match and improving a wrestler’s cardiovascular capacity is of paramount importance. 

Scott recalls less-than-ideal afternoons of CrossFit where during one drill, team members raise a weight plate above their heads and run around a track. He eventually understood the benefit of getting into shape and strengthening his muscles simultaneously. 

“Wrestling isn’t a pure bodybuilding sport,” Scott said. “It’s also sprinting.”

And tedious, yet essential, work on the mat to perfect an ongoing craft that ultimately separates the great from the good wrestlers.

Prochaska believes it’s an area Scott has improved, especially when trying to score points from his feet.

“He can sense when he’s wrestling what that guy’s going to do,” he said. “Not truly anticipate it but have a feeling where the pressure’s coming from. He’s always been good on top; he can turn a lot of people. His technique has gotten better when he’s on his feet. 

“He’s increased his takedowns from his feet and that’s helped elevate his game,” he said. “He knows he can score on his feet. He doesn’t have to turn everybody. He can make life easier and get points (on his feet) to take with and has done that for the most part.”

Scott’s on pace to have one of the program’s most decorated careers. Aside from his chase to become a repeat state champion, he’s already toppled the 100-win mark (117-14) and will continue his ascent toward school-record holder Trent Fresina’s (Class of 2008) mark of 188 wins next season. 

“It was definitely a cool achievement to get,” Scott said of his 100th win this season at the Scott Rohrer Invitational in Hoover. “It just sounds good. My next goal is 150 wins and 100 pins (he has more than 80).”

Getting there won’t be for a lack of talent but rather limited opportunities. 

Prochaska’s a proponent of his wrestlers taking on a schedule of 40-50 matches to remain fresh with the intent of avoiding burnout and injury.

Scott’s averaged 44 matches per season and can exceed his victory total of 41 wins last season with an extended stay in this year’s state tournament.

“Anything more than that is overkill,” he said. “The weigh-ins on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday take a toll on kids. The matches are big, but the weigh-ins are bigger in my opinion.

“He’s really good at learning a move that gets used on him,” he said. “He picked up a move after he lost in the state finals and the next year used it. He understands it. His mindset is the biggest thing. Things are slowing down for him. You hear all the greats talk about things slowing down. It’s been fun watching him.”

Adjusting to a different weight

Because of an existing friendship with Scott’s father, Prochaska was aware of what he was getting when Kristian transferred to Catholic after the seventh grade.

“To be able to coach his son is awesome,” he said. “He (Kristian) realized he wanted to be part of a bigger program and was here as an eighth grader, sat out, and then wrestled as a freshman.”

Scott spent his first two years wrestling at 126 and 132 pounds and originally planned to move up one weight division this season to 138. 

“I didn’t know where I was going to go,” he said. “This summer I was planning to bump up one weight class, and as the season got closer my weight really wasn’t going down.”

Prochaska said a hydration/body fat test showed that it would be healthier for Scott to wrestle at 157 as well as help fill a key spot in the team’s lineup.

“We were concerned when you get to 157-165 (weight class) you tend to be taller,” he said.

Scott hasn’t been deterred by the 25-pound jump in weight class. He said training this summer with Catholic High assistant Keshawn Hayes, a former Ohio State wrestler, has helped further develop him for the rigors of the season in his new weight class.

“I’ve just improved levels since last year,” he said of Hayes. “My confidence has gone up tremendously this year He’s really pushed us all. I started realizing the lineup would be better with me there and eventually it kind of shook out.

“Being at 157 wound up being the best fit for me and the team,” he said. “It’s that perfect weight where I don’t have to strain my body and cut (weight), but I also can be eating a lot and maintain my strength.”

Scott is the No. 1 seed at the weight going into this year’s state championship. That’s a reflection of his ability to handle the challenges that have come his way where he’s undefeated in Louisiana.

Philosophically, he’s remained aggressive and has only suffered setbacks against Williams, a wrestler Prochaska believes will wrestle collegiately on the Division I level.

Scott claimed a 10-6 decision to win the Louisiana Classics on Jan. 18 and followed that on Feb. 1, becoming a three-time champion in the Baton Rouge City Championships with a pin in 1 minute, 55 seconds.

He was selected the Outstanding Wrestler for the second time in three years.

“I’ve gotten a feel for everybody in my weight class that I may have a match against at state,” Scott said. “My game plan going in is to stay on my attack. If I try to counter their moves, then it’s going to hinder my abilities. My goal is to attack and do my moves as best I can, to get to my takedowns.”

Busy Summer Ahead; Sorting out the Future

The high school season is just part of Scott’s schedule. Following a 1-2-week respite after the state championships, he’ll turn his attention to preparing for the 36th Annual National High School Association’s national tournament at the Virginia Beach Sports Center on March 28-30. 

The massive event has between 1,700-1,800 wrestlers representing every state participating on 42 mats.

Competitors are grouped by classifications with brackets featuring 120 wrestlers and the top eight finishers earn All-America honors.

“He has a winning record at nationals in his career,” Prochaska said.

Scott will then crisscross the country to Herriman, Utah on June 10-14 for the Freestyle/Greco-Roman 16U national duals. 

It’s part of a cumulative process that will further sharpen Scott’s skills going into his senior season and possibly beyond. 

“He is,” Prochaska said of Scott’s college prospects. “It’s difficult to get guys from Louisiana just because of the lack of college programs. He definitely has the ability to go on and wrestle in college. What weight? I don’t know. He’s a mid-D-1 guy in my opinion.”

Scott, a 3.8-3.9 student, said the thought of wrestling in college is a “50-50” proposition. 

His ambition is to pursue a medical career in college and whether wrestling could fit into such a demanding curriculum is hard to judge for a 16-year-old. Should he continue to wrestle, Scott’s aware that a university will have to have an exemplary medical school to accommodate his new career.

“It’s a job to wrestle,” Prochaska said. “Going to med school is a hard fit. He could do it if he wanted.”