Catoosa Wrestler Dominates the Mat and Classroom

By Kyle Dierking, NewsOn6.com

He's made for the mat and built with brains and brawn. Coiled up inside is something that's the crux of every competitor.

"I hate losing more than anything else in the world," said Catoosa senior Dallas Bailey. "Sometimes it's maybe good for you to lose a match. You're going to take more from a loss than you ever will from a win."

Catoosa wrestler Dallas Bailey has been a quick study. The senior has won three individual state titles and has been a member of back-to-back state championship teams.

"I can always decide the outcome by what I do and how hard I work," Bailey said. "If I end up losing then you go back and look what you did wrong. You can always determine your own destiny."

Bailey carries that belief in the classroom. There's not a single blemish on his report card. And by blemish, that means never getting a "B."

"I hope to keep it that way," Bailey said.

He's pinned down the top spot in his senior class and that straight "A" success on the mat and in class has him in line to be Catoosa's valedictorian and a four-time individual state champion.

"That would be awesome," Bailey said. "That would be a successful senior year I would say."

Sometimes understated and always even keel, Bailey never bends from that brand except when it's his competitive desire talking.

"I don't like losing whether its wrestling, any other sport or anything else," Bailey said. "If I don't get an "A" I lost. I like to do as well as I can in everything I do or else why do it."

Bailey will wrestle for Oklahoma State University this fall.