Many people know Ron Thon winner Doug Bettger for being a great wrestler and an even greater person; he shows this through his passion for everything he does, whether that be sports or academics. 

Question: How has your wrestling career grown over the years? 

Answer: It’s really been a process. I think the entirety of the wrestling all leads up to that senior year because it’s just about taking those steps that lead to … success. Freshman year, I went to state, but I wasn’t even close to placing, and then I won more and more matches [and] I trusted the process. So wrestling is really just a process of taking those steps to be where you want to be.
Doug’s motivation for being such a good wrestler is uplifting as well, as he says his fellow athletes are what push him.

Q: What is your motivation? 

A: What motivates me is, I want to see a team succeed. So, of course, I want individual success, but where we have such high team aspirations, it makes everything just all the more important… we could see those dreams. I guess, being accomplished, where [the wrestling team] took first, and it’s really important to be a part of that and to be adding points to the team’s total [is] more like a group effort. Even though wrestling is such an individual sport, it matters so much to have such a huge senior class around you that I’ve been wrestling with since I was four or five, you know, really young.

Q: What part of wrestling interests you the most? 

A: Winning, of course, [is] the part I have the most fun in. I guess, [it] would be really hanging out with the guys… just being able to be with them at tournaments and just kind of hang[ing] out with them is the most fun for me. Wrestling can be [very difficult], especially around the January time, [it] gets so looming and difficult for wrestlers. That’s why you see so many quit, it’s because it’s just so long and grueling…

Q: What is the most difficult part of wrestling? 

A: Probably the practices and the losses. It’s really hard when you have three-hour practices every single day, you know, four or five times a week, and then you’re gone three days, you know, every weekend… It gets really long and really frustrating, and then when you get to that tournament and you don’t achieve what you want to… being able to bounce back and continue to [try hard], it’s hard. 

Bettger is not only a top-of-the-state wrestler with resolve for his craft; he is also interested in history, specifically the Holocaust.

Q: What do you think started your interest in the Holocaust?

A: That would be Mrs. [Amy] Moore, really. I loved her when I took sophomore English, and then I realized that she was teaching another class, and so much of that in history I just didn’t know a whole lot [about]… And then taking that class really opened my eyes to a lot of the historical contexts, to what happened and how important it is to study this kind of stuff.

Bettger found a passion in educating others about his findings in the Holocaust Literature class and is currently a teacher’s assistant for Mrs. Moore. For his senior trip, he is planning on going to Europe to visit the Dachau concentration camp in person and to see things related to his passion firsthand.

Q: How did you come to be the teacher’s assistant?

A: I was looking at classes and I had an opportunity to do that, and I thought it was just something that I couldn’t pass up. It’s something that I really love, and I learned something new in that class every single day. I believe it should be a required class for all high schools, but that’s unfortunately, not the case. I haven’t seen [them] teach any classes similar to this. It’s so important for high schoolers to learn about this, you know, what signs to look for to make sure nothing like [the Holocaust] ever happens again. And being able to learn more about that [is] so awesome.
Doug’s passion for learning relating to the Holocaust has helped other people get more in tune with the topic as well.

Q: Do you think you’re going to be an advocate for the Holocaust in the future?

A: Absolutely… all high schools should teach [about it]. It should be required… at least basic knowledge which they touch on… World War Two history, but when you look at America as a whole, and, even different countries, they don’t realize the full extent of it, or what it actually is. I mean, 10% of our high school [doesn’t] understand what the Holocaust really is, even walking into the Holocaust literature for the first time with juniors and seniors, and they can’t write down anything more than ‘Hitler caused it’ on a piece of paper, it’s shocking to see. I mean, if you scroll social media at all, right now, check comments or even videos… I was scrolling and there was, like, a snowboarding video and a wrestling video and then one more, and it was like this insane Jewish anti-semitism thing and I was just blown away that, like that was allowed to be on that platform.

Thinking back on his start, Bettger touches on the chances he was given that got him to where he is today.

Q: If you could tell a freshman you anything, what would you tell them?

A: I would tell them not to be afraid to take opportunities. High school is such a time where so many different doors… open and you really need to explore all of your interests and grow more as you get to a senior. That’s something where I think I’ve improved a lot, because I’ve tried to take as many opportunities as I could. I think that’s… important for high school, to realize that you need to take those steps.

Bettger hopes to later study accounting at the University of Wyoming. He is planning on studying for at least four years and getting certified in public accounting.