By Hayden Swope

Dawson Hogan, a wrestler at Salina Central, was chosen as the American Family Insurance Athlete of the Month. To wrap up his last year as a Mustang, Hogan was named an honorable mention all-league linebacker. 

“It means a lot to me and the people around me to be chosen for this magazine,” Hogan said. 

After years of looking up to upperclassmen on the team, Hogan has prepared to step into his role of being a leader for his senior year. 

“Some goals I am focused on for this season is to lead by example and help out the underclassmen as the team captain,” Hogan said. “I always looked up to the team captain as an underclassman. Now I am the team captain and I want to be a good influence on the underclassman. Another goal is to finish highly at the state tournament and leave every match knowing I gave it my all.”

Hogan spent his offseason pushing himself to improve his skills by training and working with his teammates. 

“I wrestled all summer going to camps and wrestling with my buddies any chance I got,” Hogan said. “I also focused on myself and becoming a better athlete. This season I really wanted to improve on finishing strong in my matches.”

While still undecided as to where his future will take him, Hogan hopes that wrestling will always be apart  

“My future plans are to wrestle in college, however I have not committed to a college yet,” Hogan said. “I’m not sure what my future holds but I hope wrestling is involved in it.”