As a passionate leader and role model, 2022 Roscoe Eades award recipient Andrew Kested set a high standard for teammates following in his footsteps. Kested was a part of both the Golden Warrior wrestling and football program for all four years of high school. He was able to find success both on the mat and turf after dedicating long summer days to practice. He will continue his wrestling career at University of Wisconsin Eau Claire where he will attend starting in the fall of 2022. “I’m most excited to get into a room where everyone cares about wrestling as much as I do,” Kested said. Throughout Kested’s decorated high school career he earned a long list of honors including being a two-time all state wrestler, a first team all-conference wrestler, and four-time sectional qualifier. His accomplishments put him in elite company, joining the 100-win club and finishing with the fifth most wins in Sterling wrestling history. Head wrestling coach Kevin Heller emphasized that Kested was a teammate who led by example.“He pushed his teammates and made them question ‘Why not me? Why not us?’” Heller stated. Kested’s rigorous training throughout his career helped Kested keep his skills top notch. “I was going to eight practices a week during the season and trained at Agoge in Bettendorf, Iowa, during the summer where I was wrestling with several former D1 wrestlers as coaches and some of the best in the states of Illinois and Iowa,” Kested shared. Kested’s work ethic did not go unnoticed by his teammates. “Drew is a very dedicated and hardworking person and that made others work harder as well,” teammate and fellow Roscoe Eades winner Nick Simister ’21 stated. “He is someone that you can count on and is someone that will go through struggles with you to get better.”Not only did he achieve triumph on the mat, he also found success on the turf where he played quarterback. During his senior season, Kested was a senior team captain along with being named second team all-conference. Kael Ryan ’23 had the chance to share a spot at quarterback with Kested for multiple seasons, learning and watching film together before games. Ryan said, “Drew was an extremely hard worker and he did a good job being able to adapt to new roles from week to week based on matchups and injuries.”When presented with the Roscoe Eades award for 2022, Kested said it means a lot to him. He explains “my senior season [wrestling] didn’t end the way it should have so to be able to end high school on a high note feels really good to know my hard work paid off.”