The sport of wrestling may have started as a nice diversion for Bridget Smith but now — three years in — the Flathead athlete has become a family trailblazer.

The oldest of five kids, the Bravettes’ 155-pounder was the first of the brood to hop on a mat, but not the last.  Now there’s also Eloise, a junior; freshman Peter; Kolbe, a seventh-grader; and young Natalie. 

“I was pretty much the first one in my family to wrestle,” said Bridget Smith, before mentioning her dad wrestled in high school in Mesa, Ariz. “It’s been really enjoyable because all my family has gotten into it. 

“Especially my youngest sister; she just turned 10. She’s going to be a pro. She gets better every day.” 

Big sister, meanwhile, is pretty good. She’s 29-8, with most of the losses coming to Missoula Big Sky’s Hattie Morrow — including Saturday in the 155 finals at divisionals — and Haven Ferguson of Billings Skyview. Consequently Smith is ranked third going into the state wrestling tournament this weekend at First Interstate Arena in Billings. 

But she can’t wait to get another shot at the top. 

“I know who the competition is and I know if I wrestle my heart out I can do it,” she said. “I think a lot of its mental. I’ve put enough work in, our team has put enough work in. It’s going to be an exciting tournament for a lot of our girls, as well. And boys.” 

“I think she’s pretty solid all the way around,” said Amber Downing, the Bravettes’ coach. “At that size, 155, that’s not super common. She used to really struggle on top-bottom and that’s something she’s working hard at. 

“It didn’t come naturally her first year. To watch her confidence grow and just her all-around athleticism improve has been pretty fun to watch. I’d say she outworks everybody in the room on most days.” 

The arc of Smith’s career is impressive. She was 0-2 at state at 152 pounds as a sophomore, then 0-2 at 165 last season. When she took third at this season’s LeProwse Tournament in Bozeman, pinning Morrow in the consolation finals on Jan. 4, it set the tone for a strong season. 

Not bad for someone who didn’t enter the wrestling room until her sophomore year because then-seniors Hania Halverson and Lucille Libby thought she’d be good. 

Her newfound sport has resulted in small-college wrestling options — St. Mary’s in Kansas and Dakota Wesleyan in South Dakota, to name two — and given Smith, who began home-schooling her junior year, a social outlet. 

While her family runs two businesses in Lakeside, she works at a coffee shop and mixes studies with lifting and wrestling.  

“Just all the extra time she’s put in in the spring,” Downing began. “She may not do all the Greco-Roman and Freestyle tournaments, but she’s always trying to get in the room and work on things. 

“She was encouraged to give it a shot, and she’s been an incredible part of the team since then.” 

Next up: State. She has that win over Morrow; she’s had no luck against Ferguson, yet. 

“I’m still getting better,” Smith said. “We’re working at it.”