Tevis Bartlett is still chasing the dream, but this time, it's on the wrestling mat instead of the football field. After getting passed over in the NFL Draft this spring, the former Cheyenne East High Thunderbird is switching sports and UW's, transitioning from football at the University of Washington to wrestling at the University of Wyoming.

Bartlett was a quarterback and wrestler in high school, leading East to a state championship on the football field in 2013 and winning four state wrestling titles. After choosing the University of Washington over Wyoming, and football over wrestling, he moved to linebacker and quickly became a force for the Huskies defense. Bartlett started 23 games as a junior and senior and was named to All-Pac 12 Conference Team in 2017 and the All-Academic Pac-12 Conference Team three times.

In May, he was invited to work out for the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans, but wasn't offered a contract. This summer, Bartlett was back home in Cheyenne and met with Wyoming Wrestling coach Mark Branch. Branch knew that football was Barlett's priority, but he had always left the door open for a return to the mat. Since Barlett played for Washington as a true freshman and never used his redshirt season, he still had one season of eligibility left with the NCAA.

Now the Washington grad is a graduate student at Wyoming, training with the wrestling team, and preparing for a career as a teacher and coach.

“People that go through wrestling, it just leaves such a mark on you that it’s hard to turn your back on it completely," Bartlett told the Tacoma News Tribune“It’s been cool to see, with the different sport, what it takes to get to that point with those two programs."

Bartlett is one of only 18 athletes to win four state wrestling titles in Wyoming. This fall, he could become the first Wyoming athlete to ever compete in two sports for two different Division 1 universities in the same calendar year.

 

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