You see them come and go. Those wrestlers in high school who dominate the competition and blaze their way to a Division I scholarship. It takes a certain breed to take success in high school and elevate it to the next level. Wisconsin’s Tyler Laudon is one of those people, having won two state championships and 104 consecutive matches in high school.

While at UW, Laudon has continued to excel, earning a trip to the NCAA championships his sophomore year and team-captain honors this year. None of this comes as a surprise to head coach Barry Davis.

“He’s getting better all the time,” Davis said. “He’s had some tough matches and close matches, but he just shrugs it off. Tyler has an attitude where he just keeps moving forward, and with that kind of attitude he’s going to have great success here.”

That attitude was evident from the moment Davis saw Laudon wrestle at the State Championships. His hard-nosed style of wrestling and a “certain confidence” was all Davis needed to see before concluding Laudon would be a perfect fit at UW.

“When he came here he had this confidence about him that I liked and that’s good for the team,” Davis said. “He’s just one of those guys who are good for the team and keeps everyone loose.”

Maybe it was destiny when Davis went after Laudon, to find out Laudon’s only school of choice was Wisconsin. It was about the same time Davis started coaching at Wisconsin that Laudon started traveling with his dad 100 miles from Tomah to Madison to see the Badgers wrestle every Sunday afternoon.

“When I was younger my dad would always bring me down on Sunday afternoons to watch Wisconsin wrestle,” Laudon said. “I was like, ‘Ya dad, I hope someday I can wrestle for Wisconsin,’ and he was like, ‘Maybe it will happen if you work hard.’ I’ve always liked the coaching staff here, and it’s pretty close to home so your friends and family can see you wrestle.”

Ironically, his father was a basketball player in high school. Laudon started out playing basketball until he picked up on the sport of wrestling in middle school. It was then he found out that wrestling was his sport.

“I played basketball up until sixth grade and then started focusing on wrestling in seventh and eighth grade,” Laudon said. “I always had a lot of success when I was younger. I thought I was pretty strong for my size, and it just stuck. I like playing basketball, too, but there comes a time when you have to choose.”

It was a good choice. Laudon was one of the most successful wrestlers to ever come out of Wisconsin and was the talk of the state tournament his senior year. His 104 consecutive wins is among the best streaks in state history and he is one of only three athletes to come out the Missisippi Valley Conference and wrestle Division I.

Still, success in high school does not spell success in college. Wrestlers like Brian Slater of New Lisbon won four state championships in high school while losing only one match, but never made the cut in college. The biggest single challenge to making the transition from high school to college is dealing with the higher level of competition.

“The intensity level is the biggest change,” Laudon said. “Every match you go out there, you are wrestling somebody who is top-caliber state champion. Two- three- four-time state champions every match, and everyone is strong, everybody is quick, and they all know the techniques. Every point you have to earn–nothing is given to you.”

This attitude has led Laudon to one NCAA appearance and Big Ten respect. His fourth-place finish at the Big Ten tournament last year turned heads and led to high expectations coming into this year. Still, nobody holds higher expectations for Laudon than himself.

“I wanted to run the table this Big Ten season but ended up getting a loss the first week,” Laudon said. “I had pretty good competition. Big Ten champion is my main goal, and you always want to be NCAA champ. Say if you are an All-American, you have reached a point, but you shouldn’t sell yourself short.”

While Laudon has his eyes set on a Big Ten championship, Davis believes Laudon has the ability to compete for a national championship.

“Last year he came through at the Big Tens and made it to the NCAAs where he had the defending national champ in the first round and was in the match, and I thought he could have won it,” Davis said. “I think he realized that a little too late.”

When Laudon isn’t competing for a Big Ten or national championship, he usually tries to spend some time with his family or go hunting. This past fall Laudon netted an eight-point buck in one of his few breaks from the mat.

When his days at the University of Wisconsin are over, he plans to stick around the area and go back into coaching wrestling. More importantly, he plans to catch up on some of the things he has been unable to do the past few years.

“I plan on doing some of the things I’ve missed out on the past two years,” Laudon said. “You devote a lot of time to the sport, a lot of weekend practices. It’s pretty much year-round. I plan on staying in Wisconsin and in the area and getting a job in Madison.”

In the meantime, Laudon and the Badgers head into their biggest weekend of the year. Friday Wisconsin wrestles 12th-ranked Minnesota and 6th-ranked Penn State Sunday at the Field House.

“We’re looking forward to the Minnesota dual,” Laudon said. “We’ve got to execute, go up there and get it done and hopefully bring two wins home this weekend.”

With an attitude like that, there is no limit to what Laudon or his team can do this season.