For Blaise Cronk, the work, and faith, paid off

Whether on the mat, academically, or on the farm cutting ice out of a cow trough, senior Blaise Cronk is always working hard. After wrestling for 12 years, he won his first state title at 165 pounds last month at the state A wrestling tournament in Billings.

Cronk was raised on a dairy farm in Deming, Washington, a border town about an hour north of Bellingham. 

“We lived right off the Mount Baker Highway,” he said in a recent interview.

When his family first bought the farm, none of the stuff was working. It had this big old barn that he and his older brother tried to fix up, at least make it wind resistant, he joked.

They raised grass fed beef as a side business. 

“My dad rotated shifts at a refinery, and worked the farm in his spare time,” he said.

His parents are retired now.

“My older brother Kilian and I would have to check for ice on the water troughs, roll out hay bales, and make sure the animals were fed,” he said.   

A Catholic family; he has six siblings. They’re all homeschooled.

It’s given him more flexibility, Cronk said, to train for wrestling. 

His youngest brother, Kolbe, is a sophomore MatCat. 

“He loves it,” Cronk said.

His faith has impacted his wrestling career, he said, 

“It’s been an absolutely amazing journey of overcoming ups and downs, trials, and having to keep trusting that you will overcome this: with God all things are possible. I’m competing for his praise, honor, and glory,” Cronk said.

In his final match against Trystan Knight from Billings Central/Joliet, Cronk secured a 4-2 decision and a state title. 

“It has been a dream and goal for some time,” Cronk said. “It’s one I have been chasing since I was really little and it’s awesome for it to finally all come together. I have a lot of friends and coaches to thank for it. A lot of hard work that they helped me put in. ... Growing up in Washington, it always felt like I’d come up a bit short; lose to the guy that would win the tournament.”

In total, Cronk had 51 wins and two losses, summing up the 53 match season. 

Upon graduation, Cronk plans on joining the U.S. Air Force. 

“After the Air Force, I’d like to get my private helicopter license, do something around helicopters. After 2,000 hours, EMS and firefighting would probably be my two primary career choices,” he said. 

He probably wouldn’t ship out to boot camp until next spring.

To cap things off, Cronk ended his senior season with a proposal to his girlfriend, Marissa Schaeffer on the mat after the championship match. She said yes.

“It was really crazy. We’ve been dating for over two years now and it was the next step, and crazy to do it in that kind of environment. My teammates called it a ‘dream moment’,” he said.  

Cronk also helps teach Columbia Falls 316 “Little Guy” wrestling. He said he’d “definitely” get into coaching high school wrestling someday.

His advice on wrestling?

 “It’s really easy to get into, you just have to go find a program. If you put in the time, you’ll be successful. There’s nothing flashy, no secret ingredient. It just takes time and technique.”

Coach and soon to be father-in-law Jessie Schaeffer was impressed with Cronk’s efforts.

“Blaise had a stellar career as a Wildcat wrestler.  This season was no exception, not only did he break the school record for pins, but he also broke the near fall record, the takedown percentage record, and became only a handful of wrestlers in our school’s history to be a 4-time state placer with a state title.  He is a hardworking, disciplined young man and to see him reach his goal, smiling on the top of the podium, made it oh so much sweeter.”

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