Brayton Feister completes remarkable wrestling run, Bryden Feister wants to match it

For the Feister brothers of Tuscarawas County, there’s only one place to be in the sport of wrestling — and that’s on top of the podium as a state champion.

That’s exactly what Brayton and Bryden Feister accomplished recently at the Ohio Athletic Committee Junior High State Wrestling Tournament held at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown.

Brayton Feister, an eighth-grader, and brother, Bryden Feister, a seventh-grader, dominated the tourney to win state crowns in their respective OAC weight classes.

The brothers attend Canton South Middle School.

The Feisters are coached by their father, Bryant Feister, who is also a part-time assistant coach for South’s varsity wrestling program.

Brayton, who won by all pins and technical falls in the tourney, captured a third straight junior high state championship, pinning Wyatt Kammerer of St. Paris Graham in the finals at 209 pounds.

In so doing, he became only the 10th wrestler in Ohio OAC Junior High wrestling history to capture three junior high state crowns, etching his name beside such mat legends as Logan Steiber, Collin Palmer and David Taylor, who accomplished the feat.

“It’s definitely something I’ve been working for since I was a little kid,” said Brayton Feister. “It’s just awesome to be able to accomplish that goal.”

Brayton finished the season undefeated. Approximately three-fourths of his wins ended in pins. He has approximately 300 wins in his career and between 10-15 losses.

“Brayton is probably the best junior high technician when it comes to his top game and I think that’s going to translate to high school as well,” explained Bryant Feister. “His top is collegiate level — he’s very good on top.”

Meanwhile, Bryden Feister, joined in the big weekend for the Feister family by pinning his way through the state tournament to capture the 176-pound title. He pinned Danny Zmorowski of Twinsburg in the finals.

“It (winning his first junior high state title) was special,” commented Bryden Feister. “That was the goal this year, that’s what I’ve been working for all year — working to pin my way through my bracket and I accomplished it.”

Bryden Feister’s strength is as a mat wrestler.

“Bryden’s strong suit of the three would be on bottom,” opined Bryant Feister. “He transitions really well on bottom.”

“For sure, the bottom,” agreed Bryden Feister of his strength on the mat. “In about two or three years, nobody has turned me on bottom.”

Brother Brayton Feister already has his goals set as he transitions to high school wrestling next year.

“As far as a wrestler, my goal is to win four more (state titles),” he said.

Meanwhile, Bryden, who will be in eighth-grade this autumn, wants another individual junior high state crown among other goals.

“Hopefully next year I can follow in my brother’s footsteps and do the same thing he’s doing this year with world wrestling and go win at Trinity and go win nationals next year,” he said. “That’s the goal.”

The Brothers Feister are also stars on the football field.

Brayton is a standout running back and linebacker who will be playing at Akron Hoban as a freshman in the fall, while Bryden is a star at middle linebacker and plays a number of other positions and will be an eighth-grader at South this autumn.

“For us, we usually don’t start our (OAC wrestling) practice until January and they are done around March,” explained Bryant Feister. “They started that a couple years ago when they decided they wanted to focus on football for college.”

Like many standouts in the athletic arena, Brayton and Bryden are also standouts in the classroom at South. Brayton sports a perfect 4.0 GPA and Bryden owns a 3.8 GPA.

Bryant Feister loves seeing the time and effort his sons have committed to wrestling and football paying off.

“To me, personally, the more rewarding aspect is to see the hard work and dedication that’s required to get where we ultimately want to be,” he said. “I mean, we’re not there yet. They’re working hard, but it’s nice to see the fruition of their hard work.”

Stay tuned.

As talented as they are, the best may be yet to come from the Feister brothers of Tuscarawas County — both on the wrestling mat and the football field.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Brayton and Bryden Feister set, reach big goals in wrestling