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THANK YOU. YOU ALWAYS FIND YOUR WAY SOMEHOW INTO THE COMPETITION. WELL, A METRO WRESTLING PROGRAM AT THE WELL COMPETING THIS WEEK IS ALSO GRAPPLING WITH GRIEF. THAT’S RIGHT. VALLEY’S DEON COBB PASSED AWAY EARLIER THIS MONTH. HE WAS A LONGTIME ASSISTANT COACH. ����vlog BEAU BOWMAN IS LIVE THERE TONIGHT. AND BEAU, THIS WEEK IS REALLY TOUGH ON THE FOLKS WHO KNEW DEON BEST. YEAH, JODI LAURA. DEON. SON TRISTAN GREW UP COMING TO THIS TOURNAMENT WITH HIS FATHER FIRST TO WATCH THOSE VALLEY WRESTLERS COMPETE AND THEN AS HIMSELF A WRESTLER COMPETING IN THE TOURNAMENT AS QUALIFYING AS A SOPHOMORE AND NOW FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS AS A COACH, PICK IT UP FROM THE TUNNELS IN WELLS FARGO. ASSISTANT COACH TRISTAN COBB WATCHES THE VALLEY WRESTLERS TAKE THE MATS AT THE STATE TOURNAMENT, BUT THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT. IT’S THE FIRST STATE TOURNAMENT WITHOUT HIS FATHER, DEON COBB. TWO YEARS AGO, HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ALS. DEON WAS KNOWN AT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL FOR HIS 20 YEAR CAREER AS AN ASSISTANT COACH. HE’S THE REASON I STARTED WRESTLING EVER SINCE LIKE SIXTH OR SEVENTH GRADE IN THE CORNER FOR WRESTLING GREATS LIKE MONTEL, MARION AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WALKED THROUGH THE DOORS AND INTO THE WRESTLING ROOM, HE MADE ME THE WRESTLER. I AM EVERYTHING I AM AT WRESTLING AND IT JUST CHANGED ME AS A PERSON IN GENERAL, JUST IN SO MANY POSITIVE WAYS. IN HIS COLLEGE YEARS, COBB WAS A TWO TIME ALL-AMERICAN AT NORTHERN IOWA, COMING BACK TO DES MOINES NOT ONLY TO COACH BUT TO RUN HIS AWARD WINNING BARBECUE RESTAURANT. MY PLEASURE TO AWARD THIS TO RYAN SMITH AND DEON COBB OF MUSTARDS, DES MOINES BEST BARBECUE IN 1997. CONGRATULATIONS, GUYS. YOU KNOW, WE SPENT ALL OF OUR LIVES GROWING UP GOING TO THE STATE TOURNAMENT, LOSING HIS FATHER A WEEK BEFORE THE STATE TOURNAMENT WAS TOUGH FOR TRISTAN, BUT SEEING HIS ATHLETES HONOR THE LATE COACH WITH T-SHIRTS AT DISTRICTS AND NOW AT WELLS FARGO ARENA, IT MEANT A LOT. VALLEY HAS DONE A LOT FOR OUR WHOLE FAMILY ME, MY BROTHER, MY SISTER, EVEN MY DAD GIVING HIM A GOOD CHANCE WHEN HE WAS GETTING BACK INTO COACHING. SO IT MEANS A LOT. THAT’S WHAT A WRESTLING FAMILY IS FOR. BUT TRISTAN KNOWS WHAT HIS DAD WOULD WANT MOST IS FOR SOMEONE NEW TO STEP IN AS COACH AND LEAVE AN IMPACT ON THE NEXT GENERATION OF WRESTLERS. I JUST HOPE TO CARRY ON THE LEGACY. NOW. TRISTAN DID GET TWO YEARS TO BE ABLE TO COACH ALONGSIDE HIS DAD, BEFORE DEON HAD TO TAKE A FEW STEPS BACK BECAUSE OF THE ALS DIAGNOSIS. TRISTAN SAYS THAT’S HE’LL ALWAYS TREASURE IN THE STATE TOURNAMENT WILL ALWAYS BE A GOOD REMINDER OF FOND MEMORIES WITH HIS DAD. WE’RE LIVE AT WELLS FARGO ARENA, BE