Just moments after the biggest victory of his wrestling career, Bryce
Hammond was already pondering one of the perks of becoming a state champion.
 “We have a thing at BHS where the defending state champ controls the radio
during practice,” the Bakersfield High junior said. “And I’m a big country
guy so I knew it was going to be country next year during practice. That was
actually the first thing that went through my mind, that I get to control
the radio now.”

 Despite hyper extending his right elbow and tearing several neighboring
muscles two weeks earlier at the Yosemite Division meet, a still-hurting
Hammond stormed through the 160-pound state tournament bracket before
beating Vince Waldhauser of El Dorado-Oak Ridge 6-0 in the championship
round. The win, which capped a 40-0 season for Hammond, also helped the
Drillers win their third team title since 2002.

“His goal at the beginning of the year was to win a state title,“ BHS coach
Andy Varner said. “That was his goal the last couple of years. He’s worked
hard and put in the time. I knew he could do it. And he knew he could do it.
He followed through and accomplished his goal.”

 For winning the state title Hammond also earns the honor of being The
Californian’s All-Area Wrestler of the Year.

“A lot of it is that I love doing it,” Hammond said of the reason for his
success. “I enjoy it. I go out there and I’ll brawl but I enjoy the
technical side of it, looking at wrestling as an art and really trying to
expand my technique every year.”

Hammond, who placed fourth at state at 152-pounds his sophomore season,  was
the top ranked 160-pounder by The California Wrestler for most of this past
season, thanks to championship performances at the prestigious Five Counties
Invitational Wrestling Tournament and equally tough Doc Buchanan
Invitational.

 But because of the injury, he was forced to drop out early in both the
Yosemite Division and Masters meets, which caused him to fall to No. 3  in
the state rankings heading into the state championships at Rabobank Arena.
That didn’t deter Hammond in the least. He easily dispatched of his first
two state tournament opponents before beating No. 6 Nikko Reyes of Clovis
West 7-0 in the quarterfinals and top-ranked Dominic Kastl of Gilroy 4-3 in
the semifinals.

 “I really felt that my semifinal should had been the final,” Hammond said.
“I was actually very confident going into the championship match even though
my elbow was hurting me pretty good, and my rib was hurting  even worse. But
I felt good. I knew once the adrenaline got going that the pain would stop.”
Later Hammond celebrated again with his teammates when they accepted the
championship team plaque.

“I actually enjoyed the team title more than my individual title just
because I came into this season having the confidence that I was going to
win,” Hammond said. “To be able to win that team title meant more to me than
anything. To be able to be compared to the great teams that have come
through BHS like in 2002 and 2004 is just a great feeling.”