SPORTS
MARCH 15, 2017 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS
Desert Vista High’s Chad Porter developed under brothers’ tutelage
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had Porter was the youngest of three brothers and followed in their steps. He was forced to go to a lot of football practices for brother Daniel and wrestling sessions for brother Jack before he eventually strapped on a helmet and headgear himself. Now that Chad is just a few months from graduation at Desert Vista High, he will leave the school as the most accomplished of the trio. “They were always in my corner,” Porter said of his brothers. “They were my role models, and all I wanted to do was be better than them because of their support and their help.” He was all-region linebacker in football and finished his wrestling career as a four-time state qualifier, three-time placer and two-time state champion. Porter lost only once to an Arizona opponent on the mat the last two years. He is just the third Thunder wrestler to win multiple state champions. He won the Division I 195-pound title the last two years and finished his career with a technical fall in the semifinals and a first-period pin the championship match. “That was a dominant performance, and it really summed up his career,” Thunder coach David Gonzales said. “We knew he had the opportunity to be good coming from a wrestling family. Had has a little bit of both his brothers in him. He’s tough and mean, and he is a hard worker. Chad meshed it all together and made it work.” It all came together on February when Chad won the second title. But what was missing was a congratulatory hug or prematch text from Daniel, who died at age 30 in June in a car accident. “It was definitely impactful not having him there, but even more during football,” Porter said, adding: “He’d call after every game and want to hear about every single play. It was hard each week, after each game, when that call never came. I was missing something.” The loss helped forge a terrific senior year in both sports. Chad, and his father, William, recently returned from a church trip to Honduras, where they helped build homes and pour
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Chad Porter of Desert Vista High School is an accomplished football player and wrestler.
concrete to repair a church. “It really made you appreciate everything you have and to never take it for granted,” Chad said. “They don’t have much, and we had a chance to hang out, help and make them happy.” Chad, who is still working on college
Days and nights were “ the same length as today, but they meant more, though they contained less – fewer posts, fewer images, fewer boasts.
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plans with Arizona State, Embry Riddle and Colorado Mesa in the mix, is ready for whatever comes his way. He’s learned to be a leader, a champion competitor and a brother doing his best to represent the Porter name. “I wasn’t always on task with some things,” he said. “I wasn’t a super vocal leadership guy,” he added. “It was more when you are the best wrestler and win a lot, people always ask you for help and I did what I could to help them. “It’s the same thing my brothers did for me, so I always tried to doing it for everyone else.”
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