Growing up, if there was one thing that Gunner Giulio knew as a kid, is that eventually he’d find a way to the wrestling mat.

Just like his oldest brother V.J., a four-time high school state champion who won a NJCAA title for North Idaho College in 2014 at the Spokane Convention Center, and his other brother Boone, a three-time state champion at American Falls High.

And his father Jim, who coached American Falls to four state 3A titles in 2001, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

It’s just in his blood.

“My brothers really have taught how to be tough and have pride in my last name,” Gunner Giulio said. “They’ve just taught me to keep grinding until the end of the match and fight my way through the end.”

Gunner joined his brothers as a state champion last season — winning at the 5A level for Coeur d’Alene as a freshman at 152 pounds.

“There’s definitely pressure being a Giulio, but you’ve got to figure out how to overcome it by just continuing to work hard,” Gunner said. “I’m just trying to live up to what my brothers did and think I’m doing a good job of it now.”

Wrestling has also paved the way to higher education for his entire family.

“It’s what my dad has been doing since he was a kid,” Gunner said. “That’s what brought him success, my brothers to college and hopefully me to college some day.”

When Jim Giulio retired as American Falls head coach following the 2017-18 season, the family moved to Coeur d’Alene to be closer to other relatives. V.J., after leaving NIC, competed at NAIA St. Cloud State, where Boone attended as a freshman before transferring this year to the University of Providence in Great Falls, Mont.

“Gunner’s a very coachable kid,” Coeur d’Alene coach Jeff Moffat said. “He doesn’t come in here with any arrogance, or a know-it-all attitude. He’s a great kid and his mom and dad raised him correctly. He’s a hard worker and will do anything you ask him to do. The transition with him has been really easy. He likes to learn, likes to grind and is a really easy kid to coach.”

“Coming to Coeur d’Alene changed things for me in that it’s a better chance for colleges to get to see me wrestle,” Gunner said. “At a little 3A school, big colleges aren’t going to be looking at you as much. At a 5A school, there’s a better chance and it’s really going to help me.”

In addition to wrestling, Giulio has played on the Coeur d’Alene High football team the past two seasons. This year, he was part of a three-man running back rotation for a Viking team that finished runner-up at state.

“Football’s where it’s at for me,” Gunner said. “Wrestling, that’s for my brothers, but I really enjoy playing football. It’s been a really good experience here so far, especially with football and wrestling. I really like it up here.”

Giulio’s wrestling season got off to a late start this year, with his first match coming on Wednesday against Kellogg due to an injury suffered during football season.

“I’ve got a torn AC joint in my left shoulder right now,” he said. “I went to tackle a kid during the Gonzaga Prep game (Sept. 6), kind of overextended my arm on the play, and a lineman stepped on my shoulder. It broke my pad in half, but I played the entire (football) season with that injury.”

“The plan was to hold him out for sure last week (at the Inland Empire Classic at Central Valley),” Moffat said. “He’s been going through physical therapy and they said he could do anything he wants. If there’s any kinds of problems, we’re going to pull him this weekend. We’re not going to risk anything now and risk not having him in February. We’ve told him that he’s got to be real honest with us, and if he’s hurting, we’re getting him out of there. We’re going to be real cautious with him because his muscles are so tight from getting hit in football. But he’s chomping at the bit to go.”

Giulio has wrestled just once this season, winning by pin in 31 seconds on Wednesday. He will compete at 160 pounds at the 49th annual Tri-State Invitational, which begins today at 10 a.m. on the campus of North Idaho College.

“He’s bigger and stronger this year,” Moffat said. “He’s going to elevate his game each year. He’s just one of those kids that loves to compete. He really loves competition.”

Giulio finished seventh at 152 last year at Tri-State as a freshman, and is seeded second at 160 this year.

Last year, he lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champoin Aidan Villerreal of Chiawana.

Giulio finished 48-9 as a freshman last year.

“My expectations are really high this year,” Gunner said. “I’d like to go undefeated, win a Tri-State title and a Rollie Lane title, and just be the best me I can be.”

- Wrestling at Tri-State begins today at 10 a.m., the first with Mike Sebaaly — NIC’s first-year coach — as tournament director.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to recruit, but also reach out to the community,” Sebaaly said. “In the 49th year, I’m still learning some of the traditions of the tournament. There’s a lot of coaches that are passionate about wrestling, and there’s going to be some good wrestling here in the next few days.”

Mead of Spokane, Post Falls, Chiawana of Pasco and Mt. Spokane were the top four teams at Tri-State last year. Post Falls won in 2014, ’15 and ’17, and was second in 2016.

“Mead will be someone to watch out for again this year,” Sebaaly said. “Lake City, Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene will also be pretty good. Granger is one of the top teams in Washington at the 1A level, and Crook County in Oregon has a strong team and finished in the top 10 at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Frenchtown (Mont.) doesn’t bring a full team, but they’ve got some quality kids as well. There’s going to be a lot of good wrestling here the next two days. I’m excited to see good high school wrestling in our area for the first time.”

Sebaaly said as of Thursday afternoon, only one school — Bethel High of Spanaway, Wash. — had pulled out of the tournament because of snowy conditions on Snoqualmie Pass.

All-tournament passes are $20, or $5 for the championship finals, expected to begin at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

TRI-STATE INVITATIONAL SEEDS

98 pounds — 1, Landen Stewart, Frenchtown.

106 — 1, Roddy Romero, Post Falls (returning champion at 98). 2, Cole Cross, Riverside (Auburn). 3, Oscar Alvarez, Granger. 4, Tristan Bremer, Lewiston.

113 — 1, Walker Dyer, Frenchtown (returning 113-pound champion). 2, Jarret Sharp, Mt. Spokane. 3, Caden Hess, Lake City. 4, Eli Warner, Frenchtown.

120 — 1, Kenndyl Mobley, North Central (returning champion at 106). 2, Nathan Gregory, Deer Park. 3, Braxton Mason, Post Falls. 4, Dom Jessos, Coeur d’Alene.

126 — 1, Jake Bibler, Frenchtown (returning champion at 120). 2, Chase Randall, Mead. 3, Jaden Cassel, Riverside (Auburn). 4, Alex Edelblute, Lakeland.

132 — 1, Isaac Jessen, Post Falls. 2, Reuben Seeman, Colville. 3, Colin Silverton, Tonasket. 4, Dominic Martinez, Royal (Royal City).

138 — 1, Drew Roberts, Coeur d’Alene (defending champion; won at 126 at University High in 2018). 2, Ryan Clark, Mead. 3, Avery Sundheim, East Valley. 4, Blake Beal, Skyview (Nampa).

145 — 1, Robby Vaughn, Chiawana (Pasco). 2, Ky Haney, Mt. Spokane. 3, Maximus Zamora, Moses Lake. 4, A.J. De La Rosa, Post Falls.

152 — 1, Rylan Anderson, Reardan. 2, Casey Howerton, Mt. Spokane. 3, Arturo Solorio, Othello. 4, Ethan Miller, Post Falls.

160 — 1, Riley Cissne, Chiawana (Pasco). 2, Gunner Giulio, Coeur d’Alene. 3, Kyler Anstrom, University (Spokane). 4, Diego Isiordia, Granger.

170 — 1, Kenon Brown, Potlatch. 2, Ethan Davis, Medical Lake. 3, Colton Boettcher, Lakeland. 4, Seth Nutting, Lake City.

182 — 1, Tyson Stover, Chiawana (Pasco). 2, Nathan Reed, La Grande. 3, Kaden Krouse, Jenkins (Chewelah). 4, Kyle Knudston, Crook County.

195 — 1, Johnny Franke, Darrington. 2, Christopher Woodworth, La Grande. 3, Isaiah Anderson, Chiawana (Pasco). 4, Carson Sasse, Tonasket.

220 — 1, Elijah Roylance, Othello. 2, Gage Cook, Granger. 3, Spencer Gerst, La Grande. 4, Jacob Vincent, Lake Stevens.

285 — 1, Nicholas Schurger, Mary Walker. 2, Isaiah Perez, Othello. 3, Charlie Harrington, Liberty (Spangle). 4, Josiah Lara, Skyview (Nampa).