Branden Pagurayan '21 Recruiting Profile

Aloha, my name is Branden Pagurayan and I am heading into my senior year at Kapolei High School, Kapolei, Hawaii.  Born and raised in Hawaii, among three other brothers, I can say “there’s never a dull moment!” My brothers and I have always been super competitive, always trying to outdo each other. 

I first stepped on a wrestling mat at the age of five to join my older twin brothers practice at a wrestling club. My parents told me that at such a young age, I was quite attentive and intrigued by the sport.  Funny thing is, I refused to compete right away.  I waited until the following year to compete and boy did I fall in love with the sport!  What kept it exciting, was I kept winning all my matches.  So, my coach and parents decided to play me up in age and weight to challenge me, and surprisingly I continued to win most of my matches. Although we participated in club wrestling for only five years, it was such an awesome learning experience!

When I finally started high school wresting, my love for the sport was ignited even more.  My parents always taught us to work hard and play hard.  They also taught us to prioritize school over sports.  To ensure that my parents allow me to play high school sports (including wrestling, judo, and bowling), I study and work diligently to maintain my academic status. 

Winning the Hawaii State Championship as a freshmen was a great start to my high school wrestling career. The following year I finished with the same result. But this past junior season I came up short finishing as a runner-up. I feel that I grew the most as an individual with that experience. It helped to fuel the fire that drove me to succeed. 

I feel that I have the core values to succeed in collegiate sports, while maintaining my academic goals.  I am driven, well-rounded, hard-working, disciplined, and most of all passionate about wrestling as well as my education.  I hope to obtain a degree in the medical/healthcare field.  And I am looking forward to competing in the collegiate level in hopes of winning national titles. I believe I have the commitment, work-ethic, and mentality to make a great asset to your team!