Vayden Moore makes it official and signs his letter of intent to continue his wrestling career at the University of the Cumberlands. (Post Photo by Diandra Womble)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
You don’t build the best record in program history and finish second in the individual state wrestling tournament without getting on the radar of some college scouts.
Cascade graduate Vayden Moore constructed the best run through high senior season and turned in a 51-1 overall record en route to a second-place finish in the 144-pound weight class bracket in the Class 1A individual state tournament this season.
After that run, Moore had a handful of schools on his radar, but in the end, felt the right fit as he signed his letter of intent to continue his career with the University of the Cumberlands.
“I was definitely excited. Just that pen and paper and making it official felt really nice,” he said.
“I was looking at a few different schools and sending emails out once my season was over. Then their (University of Cumberlands) coach got back in touch with me and wanted me to go on a visit. I toured the campus and got a practice with the team and ended up really liking it a lot.”
Moore has been a key cornerstone of the Champion wrestling program throughout the previous four years, but there was a time when he didn’t know if he had a future in wrestling.
“My dad wrestled when he was in high school and when I was in fourth grade, he told me I should wrestle. I actually only won one match that entire year,” Moore said.
After taking his fifth grade year off, Moore returned to wrestling and the rest is history.
“I actually didn’t like it and never wanted to do it again. I didn’t wrestle my fifth grade year. My sixth grade year, I decided to try again and I guess I was a little bit better at it and decided to stick with it,” he said.
Throughout his storied career with the Champions, Moore had a single memory on the mat that stood out to him and helped push him through the remainder of his high school career.
“I think I had just lost a match and I was pretty upset. I came off the mat and Coach (Andy) Giel could see that. He just told me, “You know what you’re doing. You know how to wrestle. The next match, go out there and do your thing.” That just stuck with me throughout the rest of my career,” he said.
Having chased a run through the best of the Class 1A state wrestlers, Moore acknowledged his career shows that if the work is put in, future Champion wrestlers can walk the same footpaths he did to becoming one of the best wrestlers in the state and eventually a college scholarship.
He passed along one bit of advice to future wrestlers.
“I would just say consistency. I wasn’t all of a sudden good at wrestling. I practiced pretty much the entire last two years of high school. I was practicing the whole last two years of high schools. As long as you’re getting a little bit better every day, that’s all you can ask for,” he said.
The University of the Cumberlands is located in Florence, Kentucky and competes in the NAIA.
When it was all said and done, Moore said he was just excited to take the next step in his wrestling career.
“It just shows all that hard work I put in. I’m really excited,” he said.
Moore plans to pursue a degree in business marketing.
