How a pair of shoes inspired the championship path for Carroll wrestler Brady Duling
A father with his heart in his throat.
A mother who couldn’t bring herself to watch what might unfold.
A brother squeezing the hand of a sister in anticipation.
The Duling family was put through the emotional ringer this past Saturday watching Brady Duling, the youngest in the family, compete in overtime to decide the 150-pound championship at the Class 5A boys wrestling tournament.
And with one daring move, Brady went from the brink of defeat to standing on top of the podium — his life’s goal of becoming a state champion secured.
“This means the world to me. It’s something I’ve worked toward ever since I was a little kid,” Brady said. “I’m just happy that I was able to make the people around me proud. It was the most amazing feeling that I’ve ever felt.”
Brady suffered heartbreak all three years prior at the state tournament, settling for a spot on the podium but never a chance for the gold medal.
So when his shot at a championship finally rolled around and his match against DeSoto’s Emerson Tjaden went to sudden-death overtime, the Duling family was a collective nervous wreck.
“Terrifying,” said Sandy Duling, his mother. “Absolutely terrifying.”
Those nerves only intensified in the opening seconds of overtime when Tjaden gained an early advantage and seemed poised for the win. In an act of desperation, with Tjaden in control, Brady rose to his knees and quickly spun. The sudden roll caught Tjaden off guard and in the span of a second, Brady maneuvered his way behind his opponent for the winning score.
“That’s actually something I’ve practiced a lot is staying calm in spots that might not feel comfortable,” Brady said. “What was going through my head was that I had to get it done. I knew I deserved it, so I just had to go make it happen.”
The Carroll coaches in his corner, Kyle Cline and Darian Eshleman, went from concerned to euphoric in the matter of seconds.
The referee’s final whistle set off pandemonium, as Eshleman collapsed to his knees and pumped his fists and Cline held his arms wide to invite Brady in for an emotional hug.
“That was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I think in all of our lives,” Eshleman said. “When it looked like all was lost, Brady just came through. He has the heart of a champion, he really does. In all of my coaching career of 33 years, he’s right up there at number one for the hardest worker that I’ve ever had. That’s why you saw the reaction that you did because it could not happen to a better kid.”
In order to become worthy of a champion, Brady first had to go on his own journey to find his passion for the sport.
He comes from a wrestling family, as his father, Rob, was a successful wrestler in his day at Carroll and his older brother, Sam, was also a state medalist on the mat for the Golden Eagles. But when Brady was around the age of 10, he told his father that he didn’t want to wrestle anymore.
It was tough news for Rob, but his wife helped him understand that wrestling needed to be something that Brady wanted to do — not something he wanted Brady to do.
“That’s really the only thing that matters,” Sandy said. “It doesn’t matter how much your parents love it. You have to want it for yourself.”
Since only one son would be wrestling that season, the father let Sam pick out whatever wrestling shoes he wanted and he found his dream pair: black and orange Adidas in the colors of the Oklahoma State wrestling team.
“I remember taking them out of the box and his eyes light up,” Sam Duling said.
Later that same night, the family was in the basement watching a movie and Brady was nowhere to be found. His father went looking for him and found him in his brother’s room, holding the pair of wrestling shoes.
“Dad, if I wrestle this year, can I get a pair of shoes like that?” 10-year-old Brady asked.
His father beamed with prime. From that day forward, Brady’s passion for wrestling was undeniable.
Almost a decade later, Brady laughed when asked about those shoes.
“I think the love was always there inside of me,” Brady said. “But I really liked those shoes. They convinced me.”
From the moment he picked up those shoes, Brady dedicated himself to becoming the best wrestler he could be. He woke up early to train. He stayed up late to rehabilitate. He battled through injuries and sickness. He sacrificed his senior year of high school football so he could give himself the best chance at winning state in his final season of wrestling.
His family understood his devotion to the sport better than anyone and that’s why they were all in tears the moment Brady became a champion.
“I always thought about what I did wrong and what I wish I would have done differently in my career,” Rob Duling said. “My boys did everything right. To see the way this sport has touched my son’s soul and to see the passion that he has and to reach out and accomplish his own goals, it’s beyond my words. I wish I had a higher vocabulary that could explain the way I’m feeling right now.”
“Winning state is something that you dream about as a little kid from the moment you first walk into the state tournament,” Sam Duling said. “I went through it myself and I know how much pressure he puts on himself. I just know how much work he’s put in and how bad he’s wanted this. That’s why to watch it happen was just ... magical.”
For so many years, Brady had to learn how to respond to defeat at the state tournament and move forward.
For once, he learned how to be a champion.
“It’s so great to be proud of him for winning instead of being proud of him for wrestling well,” Sandy Duling said. “I’m so grateful for how much this sport has taught my boys. It’s taught them how to lose, how to be a good friend, how to pull yourself out of the gutter.
“It’s disheartening sometimes, but boy it sure is fun when you win.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 5:14 AM.
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