by By Dan Ninham (Contributing writer for ndnsports.com)
Talon Tahdooahnippah, Comanche, is on his way to high school and is finishing his eighth grade at Elgin Middle School in Oklahoma. He has competed in football, wrestling and track and field. Football and track and field must prepare him for wrestling.
Tahdooahnippah is the 2023 Adidas National Wrestling Champion. He is also a three time Oklahoma Kids Wrestling Association State Champion. He also recently battled in the Oklahoma Free Style State Championship and won the Cadet (16U) 120 lb. division.
“Being Native American in my family you are expected to be a warrior and a strong fighter,” Talon Tahdooahnippah said. “So I use that to push me when I practice or perform competitively.”
Tahdooahnippah has a goal oriented mind set. “To be a 4x Oklahoma high school state wrestling champion, I’m going to win high school state as a freshman because they won’t be ready for me!”
“My dad is my mentor,” said Talon. “George Tahdooahnippah, he also pushes me and my two wrestling brothers to be great wrestlers.”
Cody Rowell completed his seventh season as Head Wrestling Coach for Elgin HS. “I knew Talon was going to be special from a multitude of experiences,” said Coach Rowell. “His willingness to always compete at the highest of levels day in and out and just overall consistency and dedication to his training has shown me that he can succeed at any level he chooses. Not only athletically, but personally and spiritually as well. It is a pleasure to coach him.”
Dad George “Comanche Boy” Tahdooahnippah, winner of four middleweight boxing champion titles, was inducted into the 2023 North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.
“Talon had two older brothers who started wrestling when he was young,” said George Tahdooanippah. “He followed them to practice and practiced good. He was taking older kids down when he was two years old. I knew he had potential.”
Talon’s oldest brother is Nacona Tahdooahnippah, and an 18 year old senior at Elgin HS. He played football, basketball, and is playing baseball now. He wrestled when he was five years old to 13 years.
His second oldest brother is George Tahdooahnippah, and is 16 years old. George wrestled on the high school team and won an Oklahoma Youth State Title in 2020.
He has a younger sister named Lulu Tahdooahnippah. She is 12 years old and plays softball, runs track, and is a cheerleader.
Rivers Tahdooahnippah is nine years old and plays football, wrestling, and baseball. Rivers is the star of brothers. He was the #1 rated 40 lb. kid in 2021. He finished third in the nation last year. He won Oklahoma Kid State Championships in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
George talked about his sons following in his footsteps into the ring. “I do have hope they will fight,” said George. “But it’s has to be them. Not me. My son George is really big into MMA and will be competing soon. He fought once in a boxing match when he 10 years old. He’s my fighter and knuckle-head. But we will see.”
Talon reflected on being down and eventually winning two matches. He said, “I traveled to this tournament without my dad/coach or my school wrestling coach and came with my friend and his mother took us. Luckily I had a coach from Oklahoma who coached me while I wrestled. My first match was kind of sloppy and I was down 7-9, I caught the guy when he made a mistake and pinned him.”
“My second and third match I felt good and pinned both guys early. My semi-final match was my toughest match. I was losing the match 2-4 going into the third period with a kid from Missouri and took the guy down straight to his back and got a two point takedown and two back points and came from behind and won match 6-5. In the finals I was winning match the whole time and just held onto victory to seal it and win tournament. In my mind, I knew I just won a national tournament and was beyond proud,” added Talon.
The first time he won state with the Oklahoma Kids Wrestling Association, he was older and in his last year was at the 12 and under division. “I marched through competition and won the championship rather easy. It felt good to finally be able to call myself a state champion. I have been wrestling since I was two years old,” said Talon.
“This past year I had to move up to 15U and was on the younger side of the division and I had been wrestling really well. I knew I had a chance to win the title but was not really sure I could win it this early in 15U. I beat everyone I faced rather convincingly. In fact, in the finals I wrestled a kid I already beat a few times. I beat him in finals 4-0. This was my last time wrestling for a youth state title. Now I’m ready to win an Oklahoma 5A state title as a freshman!” added Talon.
Jack Baker, is the Elgin MS football defensive coordinator and assistant wrestling coach. Coach Baker said, “I have known the Tahdooahnippah family for a while, Talon’s Dad George has coached both of my sons in youth sports. So I knew from the moment I met him that he was going to be a hard-working and coachable athlete.”
“I think the first time I realized that he has the potential to be a special athlete was during the Weatherford eighth grade football game, when he was all alone on a reverse and he was able to secure the tackle. It was reinforced during wrestling as I watched how much work and time he put into practice,” added Coach Baker.
Coach Baker continued, “Then the mental toughness that he showed at Jr. High State Wrestling Tournament. He wrestled multiple freshmen in that tournament that started on HS varsity teams. His drive and determination drove him to medal in one of the toughest tournaments in the state.”
“I think what really makes him special is his attitude and coach-ability. When you coach him he looks you in the eye, never makes excuses, and then attempts to put in practice what you have coached. I have never heard him say ‘I can’t do something’. Honestly he is easy to coach. I also love how great of a teammate he is. He is always encouraging and you will often see him at you practices helping out the younger kids. Talon has a bright future ahead of him,” added Coach Baker.
Talon Tahdooahnippah is expected to be a wrestling warrior at Elgin HS beginning next school year.
