Luke Golden, Senior Peninsula High School
Luke Golden knows that to be successful you have to put in the work, and if you want to truly achieve your goals you’ll need to go even farther. The Peninsula High School senior recently wrapped up a decorated career on the football field—and especially the wrestling mat. Luke earned conference honorable mention as a linebacker for the football team. He is also a multi-time state competitor and regional finalist in wrestling. Luke made it all the way to the state tournament during his junior season but failed to achieve his goal of placing in the competition. While he came up short of his goals, his determination and commitment only grew stronger from there.
“After junior year I did a lot of wrestling in the offseason like freestyle and Greco practices and competitions. I also went to wrestling camps over the summer to get better—and it paid off,” said Luke.
Luke excelled throughout his senior season and made it to the state tournament. The hard work paid off with a fourth-place finish at state to wrap up a great career.
What Luke enjoys most about the sport of wrestling is that you get out of it what you put into it. He believes you can only be successful if you earn it by working hard. He’s enjoyed the coaches who push him to be his absolute best.
While wrestling is one-on-one competition, it’s also very much a team sport, and Luke enjoys celebrating his teammates’ success as much as his own. “Watching my teammate Brock Allen place in state and my practice partner Nolan Casey become a state champion felt just as good as placing myself because we’ve all been in this together since we were freshmen,” said Luke.
Cheering on his teammates won’t surprise too many people around school. Luke was elected Spirit King during homecoming, and also acts as the spirit coordinator for Peninsula High. He enjoys music and is vice president of the Peninsula Choir.
Sports have taught Luke that the harder you work the more fulfilling the results will be, and he plans on continuing this mantra after high school graduation. He’s maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his senior year and hit the Honor Roll every semester since he walked through the doors. College is definitely in Luke’s future, but first he will embark on a two-year mission trip with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which he has been a member of his entire life.
When his mission is complete, Luke plans to enroll in BYU - Hawaii where he plans on studying medicine. “My dad is a doctor and my mom is a nurse, so growing up in that environment I just feel comfortable talking about and learning how to care for people,” said Luke.
A great career and bright future ahead for Luke, who has learned very early in life the rewards that hard work and determination can bring.