Hermiston’s Sam Colbray going after fourth state wrestling title

Sam Colbray’s name is one of the most respected in high school wrestling.

The Hermiston High School senior is ranked No. 2 in the country at 195 pounds, according to InterMat, and has a full ride to wrestle at Iowa State. He also has won four consecutive titles at the prestigious Tri-State Tournament in Coeur d’Alene — just the second wrestler to complete the feat.

This weekend, he will be going after his fourth consecutive title at the Oregon state tournament at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, looking to join an exclusive group of 24 wrestlers that includes former Bulldog Joey Delgado (2000-12).

But if you wanted to know all of this, you would have to pry it out of him, because you can’t spell “ego” with Sam Colbray.

“The work you put in is what you get out,” said Colbray, who has a 38-1 record this season. “The hours are extensive. We run at 5:30 a.m. every day, we lift and practice. Once you are through wrestling, everything in life is easy.”

First-year Hermiston coach Kyle Larson inherited a program that not only has won the past three 5A state titles and eight of the past nine, but has a stacked lineup that includes Colbray, Bob Coleman (182), Liam Tarvin (113), Andy Wagner (126), Joey Gutierrez (160) and Brock McDonough (170).

The Bulldogs will take 16 to state this weekend as they go in search of their 10th team title in 15 years.

But Colbray is the icing on the cake.

“When I showed up, the team was there,” said Larson, who was a three-time state champion at Hermiston. “Shaun (Williams) and (Doug) Tovey and all who were involved did a great job developing them and getting them in the room. We expect a lot out of them. Sam has been wrestling for a long time, has put a lot of time in and it has paid off. It takes time to develop and be a man.”

By the time he got to high school, Colbray had a shining résumé.

Colbray started wrestling when he was about 7 years old. He won 14 national titles before becoming a Bulldog.

“If you want to be good, you have to have exposure,” Colbray said. “My parents (LeRoy and Delta) took me to a lot of tournaments.”

He has won all three of his state titles at 195 pounds, a tough class weight class to begin with, but even more so for a freshman at any level.

“It’s a very heated weight class every year,” Colbray said. “As a freshmen, I was wrestling men. The competition is thick.”

Though he is one of the tops in the country in his weight class, there is that loss on the back end of his record — to Trevor Eicher of Deer Park, who last weekend won the Washington 1A 220-pound state title.

“I lost in overtime,” Colbray said. “I got a rematch at Tri-State and I beat him (3-2). You have to be humble. Every day is another day.”

Though Colbray wrestles at 195 during the postseason, most of the season he’s dominating his opponents at 220 pounds. But that doesn’t mean he can shovel in the groceries.

“I’m usually about 215,” Colbray said. “Our family get-togethers are bad. Super Bowl weekend we had 330 wings. I ate 15.”

That’s dedication to your sport, which Iowa State found attractive.

“I like his mentality,” Iowa State coach Kevin Jackson told the Des Moines Register in November. “I think he’s a smart kid. He’s got some physical attributes that are matched by very few. I think his upside is huge. I thought we had a pretty strong recruiting class before we locked in Samuel. But adding Samuel to this class boosts it to an even higher level. We’re excited about it. He’s ranked No. 1 in the country at his weight class and he’s definitely going to help the program.”

For Colbray, he liked the wrestling program at Iowa State and the school’s science program. An honor student, Colbray has plans to be an orthopedic surgeon.

“I have a good setup academically,” said Colbray, who picked the Cyclones over Cornell and Purdue. “Thanks to wrestling, it’s taken care of.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Hermiston’s Sam Colbray going after fourth state wrestling title."