Photo courtesy of Dean Paugh.
Morgan Paugh
Morgan Paugh didn’t have to win a state wrestling championship to make his parents proud.
There’s a special satisfaction, however, in the Vestavia Hills High School junior taking the same title as his father, Dean, who was a state wrestling champion at Vestavia Hills 38 years ago in 1976.
Morgan, 17, won the title in the 152-pound weight division Feb. 15, defeating Davis Perry from Hewitt-Trussville High School.
For years, photographs of the school’s state wrestling champions have hung on a wall in the wrestling room at Vestavia Hills High School. There has never been a father and son on the wall since the school was founded in 1970 – until now.
“It’s a big honor, because no one has done it before at Vestavia Hills High School,” Morgan said.
The excitement Dean Paugh experienced seeing his oldest son achieve a goal he achieved is almost beyond description.
“It’s pride on a lot of different levels,” Dean Paugh said. “I take great pride in knowing how hard he’s worked to get there. I know firsthand what it takes to make that commitment. When your kids succeed, it’s great. But when they succeed at something that you did, it means that much more.”
Morgan said the solo nature of wrestling is something that has always drawn him to the sport.
“I like the individual aspect of it,” Morgan Paugh said. “In baseball or football, if one of your teammates messes up, you lose a game.”
With wrestling, Morgan knows his success or failure rests with only one competitor.
“If you lose, it’s your fault,” he said. “Or if you win, all the credit goes to you.”
Ironically, Morgan initially rejected the idea of wrestling even though his father encouraged him to try the sport. His younger brother, Matthew, embraced wrestling when he was young and was already competing in the sport when he was in first grade.
Morgan remembers that seeing his brother practice changed his perspective.
“I was thinking, ‘This is actually kind of cool, I might try it,’” Morgan said. “I started in third grade and stuck with it.”
Vestavia Hills wrestling coach Steve Gaydosh said Morgan’s years of training reflect his wrestling ability. He added Morgan’s calm nature may cause opponents to underestimate him.
“He’s so laid back,” Gaydosh said. “You can’t tell he’s fired up, even though he is.”
Dean Paugh and his wife, Lynn, have worked hard to instill values in their sons, and he believes wrestling has helped those efforts.
“I’ve always believed that my wrestling career and the lessons I learned had a lot to do with my other successes in life,” Dean Paugh said. “I feel like Morgan’s learned those same lessons, and it gives me great comfort. He’ll actually have the opportunity to win two state championships, which is something I didn’t have a chance to do because I was a senior when I won.”
And with Matthew, 14, already wrestling for Vestavia Hills, there may eventually be a third Paugh winning a championship for the school.
