THE FRONT ROW with BRUCE BOURQUIN, Jan. 9, 2015

Killian Estes, an 18-year-old three-sport senior athlete at Lakeland, has undergone a painful tragedy on his way to becoming one of the best 4A wrestlers in the state.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound four-year varsity wrestler has also had to overcome some family issues to excel, especially in wrestling. When he's out there pinning and winning, he's not alone, outside of teammates, coaches and fans.

AT THE young age of 34, Jennifer Diane Day, Killian's mother, died on Aug. 1, 2012, of massive organ failure at a hospital of Reno, Nev.

"She had autoimmune disease," Estes said. "Her body was fighting itself, her white blood cells were eating red blood cells. Her white blood cells saw them as bacteria."

Day's body began breaking down quickly beginning in July of that year.

"She had some things wrong with her," Estes said. "I think it was cancer in her kidney. She was in there for three weeks, she started getting bad, it was quite sudden. My sisters told me and said she was in intensive care down there. I was going into my sophomore year. I was pretty depressed, I didn't have a lot of drive."

Day was a hospice nurse and Killian's father, Parker Estes, is a manager at Dish Network and has been involved in construction. Killian recovered thanks in large part to family and friends. The family has a five-acre property in Rathdrum, which includes a building attached to the house that is about 100x60 feet long, where Killian works on his wrestling moves.

"I had some support from my family members from my community," Killian Estes. "Coaches especially, definitely from them. My mom was amazing, she was one of the most loving people you'd ever meet. She'd do anything and everything to help you, she'd always be there for you."

"My dad and her split up when I was 2, my mom took my two sisters at the time and my dad took me," Killian said. "Even after that, my mom and he still had a great relationship, it was by far the best divorced relationship I've ever seen. They never really fought after that. She'd always give back to the community, always giving to homeless people."

Before every wrestling match, Estes keeps his mom's spirit with him.

"I say a prayer and ask for her help and guidance," Estes said. "I've always told myself she's with me. I talk to her, tell myself I'm going to win for her."

ESTES HAS been pretty gifted competing in three sports at the 4A level, starting as a middle linebacker and a first baseman, outfielder and pitcher. And he's wrestled since he was able to walk at age 3. As a freshman, he started out at 152 pounds but at times competed at the 170-pound weight class.

Estes was runner-up at the state 4A wrestling tournament last year, after finishing fourth in state as a sophomore. This season, wrestling at 195, Estes (15-3 overall) finished sixth at the Tri-State Invitational, despite dislocating some fingers in his hand. He also finished fourth at the Rollie Lane Invitational in Nampa last weekend.

Going into this weekend's River City Duals in Post Falls, Estes has a 108-40 career record over four seasons.

"He's had some tragedies in his life," Lakeland wrestling coach Rob Edelblute said. "He's had a rough life. His mom passed away of cancer. It wasn't really talked about much. It's a sore subject. That was really hard on him."

It took a while for Estes to overcome the pain of losing his mother.

"I know sometimes he loses his temper," Edelblute said. "I know there's a lot of anger built inside. He'll get frustrated, something doesn't go right, he'll go about it any way he can. He'll yell or he'll sometimes lose his cool, instead of thinking about it. He's ranked first in the state right now. He's overcoming some of those things that are holding him back. It's his goal to be the state champion. He's a very physical and athletic wrestler. He has kind of his own style, he's able to pull off what a normal wrestler may not be able to pull off, with his throws. He's one of our team leaders."

Estes said last year's runner-up finish at state was the most important match in his life so far, because of what he learned. He lost to Zachary Argyle of Jerome 9-4.

"I learned from that match to overcome adversity and to work harder than my opponents," Estes said. "Not just want to win my weight class but own it."

Estes' interests include collecting exotic animals, like snakes and lizards, and said he may want to pursue something in the zoology field. He said he'd like to wrestle in college.

SINCE NOVEMBER of 2013, Estes has lived with his girlfriend, Lakeland High 6-foot senior Kaidan Kelsey, who plays basketball, track and volleyball, and her mother, Shari.

"My dad and his (second) wife divorced and I started dating Kaidan at the beginning of our junior year," Estes said. "My dad was going through a rough time trying to provide for the six of us (four sisters, one brother and I) and find a new home in the process. I felt like my dad had enough to worry about and having to work seven days a week. Shari knew that it would also be a tough time for me and knew I would struggle in school, so she took me into her home."

Kaidan also had some serious things to overcome, in the form of a fractured skull in the spring of 2013, after she tripped over a hurdle and landed on the left side of her head.

"She had internal bleeding on both sides of her head," Estes said of Kaidan. "She had to go to the ICU and was in the hospital for a week. It took her eight months for a full recovery."

Estes has been wrestling through some difficult times in his life, but that's nothing compared with what he's done to opponents.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013 or via e-mail at [email protected]