In the Monitor’s efforts to catch up with former CGD athletes, we recently chatted with Tanner Abbas who is a sophomore at Grand View University and continues to be a standout on the Vikings wrestling team.
The name Abbas has become synonymous with Clarion-Goldfield-Dows wrestling over the last several years. Tanner Abbas, a 2018 CGD graduate from Kanawha, saw his share of success in his high school career. He placed fourth at the State Wrestling Meet as a freshman, junior, and senior, and picked up a sixth-place medal his sophomore year. When he graduated, Abbas was celebrated as the first Cowboy wrestler to place all four years at state since 1938!
Fast forward a few years, and the wrestling bug is still strong with Abbas. He is currently a sophomore at Grand View University in Des Moines. Abbas wrestles for the NAIA-member Vikings. And just like during his CGD career, his hard work is paying off. As a freshman, Abbas took fourth place at the NAIA National Tournament, helping lead the Vikings to their ninth national title in 10 years.
During his sophomore season, Abbas acknowledges that things were a bit different but still fun and exciting. “I’m very grateful that we had the opportunity to compete and have a full season,” he said. “Obviously, our schedule and competitions were slightly different than normal, but overall, it was good. I had a great regular season for the most part and got to be surrounded by a great group of teammates and coaches.”
His fellow teammates also clearly appreciate him as well, considering that Abbas was named team captain this past year. He also claimed All-American status for the second year.
Abbas added that highlights from his season included “winning the Grand View and Doane tournaments and getting to travel with my friends and coaches.” And of course, traveling to another national tournament was a highlight.
The NAIA National Wrestling Tournament took place in Wichita in early March. This year the Vikings took second place, falling short by only a point behind Life University. Abbas also made a good showing himself, this year taking the sixth-place medal.
Abbas was happy with his season but looks forward to bigger and better things and higher places. “My goal for myself and my team was of course to win the national championships. Realistically though, my goal is to be as good as I can possibly be and with that comes the idea/goal of winning national championships. Personally, I would have liked to have gone undefeated and win every match by a significant margin in scoring, but I have a lot of work to do.”
With that mindset, Abbas will no doubt continue to achieve those big goals.
