5A Senior Wrestler of the Year - 2003

TANNER GARDNER
Shawnee Heights High School

Standout Tanner Gardner finished what ended up being one of the best prep wrestling careers in the state’s history by being named the 5A Senior Wrestler of the Year.

Gardner finished with a 154-12 career record for the Shawnee Heights Thunderbirds and head coach Bob Gonzales. He ended his senior year with an amazing 40-0 record at 119 pounds, placing first at the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Christmas Invitational, Derby Panther Classic, Basehor-Linwood Bobcat Classic, Hays Prairie Classic, Shawnee County Invitational, Centennial League, and Regionals as well as state. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Colby Eagle Duals, Lee’s Summit Christmas Invitational, and the Hays Prairie Classic.

Gardner’s success also extended to the national scene, where won numerous freestyle/Greco-roman honors. Gardner was a 2002 FILA-Cadet National Greco champion and freestyle runner-up. He has a Junior National Greco champion and freestyle third-place finisher. We placed second in Greco and sixth at the Western Regionals. He finished third in Greco and second in freestyle at the Southern Plains Championships. Gardner was a junior Greco and freestyle state champion in 2002 as well.

More impressively, he graduated from SHHS with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Gardner, who also is an Eagle Scout, is on a wrestling scholarship at Stanford University.