WARNER – Alex Pudwill’s senior year has been one to remember.

The Warner student-athlete, who has already been a part of one state championship in football, has been working hard to finish strong on the wrestling mat. While that hard work began well before this season, it has paid off getting him to this point.

“Definitely just working hard on and off the mat,” Pudwill said. “It’s so important even not in season to go the gym, get a run in, working out all the time, and improving whatever way you can will always help.”

He has not only worked out on his own, but also with his coach, Jackson Metz, and Pudwill is grateful for having his coach help him over the course of the past three years.

“He’s been the best coach I could ever ask for,” Pudwill said. “He’s done so much for me and the team. It’s really great to have a coach like him.”

Metz, who has been with the Warner-Northwestern wrestling program for three years, is in his first season as the head coach, and says Pudwill is a sponge when it comes to information when learning on the mat at practice.

“When I try to teach something or talk, he listens and soaks it in,” Metz said. “Some of the stuff that I have tried to teach him and help him grow, he takes it very well.”

After years of hard work and preparation, Pudwill reached the state tournament last season where he placed on the podium with a seventh-place finish in the 170-pound weight class. He said the feeling of reaching the podium was unlike any other feeling he has had.

“It was great to finally get up there after two years ago not placing,” Pudwill said. “To finally get on there, it was like nothing that I’ve ever felt before.”

Metz was excited to see Pudwill place at the state tournament last year.

“That was huge,” Metz said. “I don’t think he was necessarily supposed to (place), but he just had a heckuva tournament.”

This season, Pudwill currently owns a 30-4 record, with 26 of those wins coming by way of a pin. He is also currently rated fourth in the state in the 190-pound weight class. He says hard work and support of teammates have made it possible to get to where he is during his final season of prep wrestling.

“Just hard work and having the community around me, having the practice partners like that for the support, that’s all it is,” Pudwill said. “When you have people that want you to achieve the things that are there, that’s what everyone really needs is the support.”

Pudwill’s ultimate goal is to bring home a state championship in a few short weeks at the state wrestling tournament Feb. 22-24 in Sioux Falls, but he knows that it will not be easy.

“Just a lot more hard work,” Pudwill said of the key moving forward. “We’ve got to really buckle up. It’s getting close to the end of the season, so just hunker down and we’ve got to go.”

Pudwill has already experienced championship success as he was a key member of Warner’s first state football championship in November when the Monarchs defeated Deubrook Area 76-54 in the Class 9A championship game. After experiencing heartbreak in two previous state championship appearances while in high school, Pudwill noted it was a great way to cap off his prep football career.

“It was very fun,” Pudwill said. “Being to the Dome twice already before that in my high school career and then losing them both, it meant a lot to finally get that win.”

While Pudwill has also competed in track and field and trapshooting, it’s the wrestling mat that draws his attention the most and has taught him lessons that can used beyond his high school career.

“It’s showed me a great work ethic that’ll be really important for the years to come,” Pudwill said.

And in the years to come, Pudwill is planning on attending South Dakota State University where he will obtain a degree in Exercise Science. He is then hoping to pursue a career as a physical therapist. But for now, Pudwill is looking to finish making his mark on his high school wrestling career, and when he looks back at it all, he notes that everything has worked out in the right way.

“Through the athletics and the academics, it’s just been a great time,” Pudwill said. “Everything came together as I wanted it to.”