Cascade wrestling coach Brooklyn Obregon (far left) demonstrates a technique on Adam Holston during practice on Jan. 18 in Everett. After the death of his father, Jery, in June of 2016, Holston moved in with Obregon and his wife, Cindy. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Cascade wrestling coach Brooklyn Obregon (far left) demonstrates a technique on Adam Holston during practice on Jan. 18 in Everett. After the death of his father, Jery, in June of 2016, Holston moved in with Obregon and his wife, Cindy. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Through adversity, Cascade High wrestler finds strength

Adam Holston has seen things that no teenager should have to see. He’s done things that no teenager should have to do. He’s felt emotions that no teenager should have to feel.

Holston was a freshman at Marysville Pilchuck in October 2014 when a fellow student — a friend of Holston’s — shot five people, four fatally, before shooting and killing himself.

The next year, Holston became the primary caretaker of his father, Jery, who was suffering from diabetes.

Through all of this, Adam struggled with anxiety. He gained weight. His grades dropped. He wasn’t doing as well on the wrestling mat as he’d hoped. His situation just wasn’t conducive to success.

Then things got worse. Last June, Jery passed away.

Holston knows he’ll never forget these experiences, and that they’ll always be a part of him. But at the same time, he’s refusing to let them define who he is or what he can become.

Holston has moved on with his life in a positive manner. He relocated to Everett to live with his former club wrestling coach, Brooklyn Obregon. He transferred to Cascade High School, where Obregon serves as the wrestling coach, and his grades have improved. He’s lost 65 pounds since last summer and is now a force on the wrestling mat.

“He’s been through war,” said Mike Wilson, Holston’s history teacher at Cascade and a former Bruins wrestling coach. “He was living a grown-up life. I’ve seen kids in similar situations, and it took years for them to get back on their feet because they made bad choices. But Adam has a special quality that allows him to turn a negative into a positive. It’s the way he’s wired.”

Holston was pushed into roles that he might not necessarily have been ready for. He’s learned a lot about the nature of some of life’s gut-twisting cruelties — and himself as well.

“Before everything happened, I was losing a lot of motivation,” he said. “I felt really insecure about myself. I didn’t think I was going to turn the page. Through all of this, I’ve learned that I can push through (obstacles) and that I can do good things.”

————

The day of Oct. 24, 2014, began like any other for Holston and his Marysville Pilchuck classmates, but ended like no other.

After finishing lunch (“For some reason — I don’t know if it’s a sign or anything — it was the quickest I had ever eaten lunch,” he said), Holston exited the school’s cafeteria, turned right and walked to a “snack shack” to buy a candy bar. He then turned back toward the cafeteria, where fellow freshman Jaylen Fryberg had begun his shooting spree.

“Everyone was running,” Holston said. ”I didn’t hear any gunshots. I don’t know why; (the) room (he was in) was soundproof or something. I was freaking out. I decided to not run off campus like I should’ve. I ran into a classroom. There we were all kind of huddled up. They turned on a big projector, which was showing a helicopter flying over our school and SWAT coming in.”

That’s when the rumors started to fly.

“I’m hearing the name ‘Jaylen,’ but the first thing I thought was that someone killed him or shot him because I did not see him being that (kind of) person,” Holston said. “It was a complete surprise. I mean, he wasn’t the nicest person to everybody. The first couple times I started talking to him, it didn’t start very well. We later became friends. He was one of the most popular kids in school. Everybody knew him. I wouldn’t expect that from someone in his position. The day before, he was dancing and singing and super happy.”

Holston said he never felt like he was in immediate danger.

“I didn’t think there was a reason why he would attack me, even if I was around,” he said. “(The shooting) was planned. Some (of the victims) were close friends and some were family members. (But) my heart was beating and rushing. When it was happening, it didn’t really hit me because I was uninformed of what happened. There was so much chaos, so many rumors — (I heard) about stuff that didn’t happen, so many things.”

Holston eventually was driven by bus to a nearby church, then found his way home. The act of violence was done, but it stayed in Holston’s mind for a long time.

“I had horrible anxiety for the next couple of months. It was (especially) bad for the first two weeks,” he said. “I guess it didn’t process through my head because you never think (something like that) would happen. It took a little bit (of time) to get accustomed to it, for sure.”

————

One year later, things were different in the Holston household. Adam’s sister, Kayleigh, had graduated from high school and moved away, and Jery and his wife, Adam’s stepmother, had divorced, so Adam was left by himself to care for his father.

“It was me and my dad, basically, constantly in the house together,” Holston said. “I spent a lot of time with him, helping him. His health started deteriorating a lot.

“Near the end of the school year, he would stop talking and he was unconscious. A couple of times he would stop breathing. There would be times when he would be sweating profusely and we couldn’t get him to speak. We had to call the aid unit a couple of times. It was pretty stressful.”

“It was obviously a very difficult thing for him to help (Jery), try to keep his grades up and play the sports that he loves so much,” Obregon said. “His plate was unquestionably full.”

Jery passed away June 24, 2016, at his home. Adam wasn’t there at the time, but after receiving the news, his “first instinct was to call Brooklyn.”

Obregon had known Holston for some time; Obregon had been Holston’s coach at USA Everett Wrestling Club for several years, and was a good friend of Jery’s. Before Jery passed away, he made an agreement with Obregon for the coach to take Adam in the event of Jery’s death.

In July, Holston moved to Everett to live with Obregon and his wife, Cindy.

“(Living with the Obregons has) been really good,” Holston said. “It’s a huge change. It’s a lot better than my (prior) environment. From being with (Brooklyn) in the little time that I’ve had, I’ve learned so much about how to live, because unfortunately my dad couldn’t teach me very much and be the parent he wanted to be (because) of his health. Now I have the best guidance and care that I could have.”

“It was a very simple thing to (take Adam) because he is a very genuine, awesome kid, and very respectful,” Obregon said. “He pushes himself very hard, not only academically but athletically.”

Holston is still grieving the loss of his father, of course. He has long dealt with anxiety issues that were exacerbated by the stress he dealt with during the past couple of years. In the weeks after Jery passed away, Holston slept often, and dreamt of his father. “I couldn’t function very well. I couldn’t get the thought of him out of my mind,” he said.

Holston still has his good days and his bad days. But he pushes forward, just as Jery would want him to.

“(My dad) was literally my biggest supporter, and I took it for granted when he was alive,” Holston said. “He made sure I knew he was proud of me, that he loved me. He’s going to be in my corner for every wrestling match, for everything that I do, but I’m not used to not having him there on the sidelines in his scooter cheering me on.”

————

During his sophomore year at Marysville Pilchuck, Holston had grown to 250 pounds. But since moving in with the Obregons, he’s embraced nutrition and exercise and is down to 185 pounds.

“I just taught him how to cook,” Obregon said, laughing. “It’s incredible. He vowed that he won’t let obesity and diabetes get the best of him.”

Holston’s weight loss has affected his wrestling in a positive manner. Last year, he posted a 12-13 record as a heavyweight for Marysville Pilchuck. This season, wrestling in the 195-pound weight class, he’s 25-4. He’s got legitimate Mat Classic aspirations.

“His strengths are his desire to achieve great things, how hard he works in practice and how he’s picking up everyone else around him to a whole new level,” Obregon said.

Holston’s anxiety issues used to surface on the wrestling mat. They don’t as much anymore.

“Sometimes he would vomit before matches,” Obregon said. “He struggled to breathe. Now he’s got so much confidence that he very rarely gets anxious. (His) demeanor and facial expression (are) a lot different.”

Cascade heavyweight Andrew Raymond said Holston has fit seamlessly into the Bruins’ program.

“It’s like he’s been here the whole time,” Raymond said. “He’s a captain. Everyone knows what he’s been through, and everyone looks up to him. He’s pretty hard-working, too. He does his best every day. He’s one of the better 195s that we’ve had. He’s wrestled really well. I want to see (how far) he goes this year.”

————

Holston has adapted well to his new life. He’s excelling academically, and is on track to become the first member of his immediate family to go to college. He’s interested in studying zoology and wildlife.

“The sky’s the limit for him,” Wilson said. “He treats others with dignity and respect. He understands that you can learn from failure, and he works harder than 99 percent of the other kids.

“He’s very unassuming. He doesn’t know how special he is yet. He’s trying to get to the top, and he doesn’t realize how close he is.”

Through his experiences, Holston has gained a unique perspective that most kids his age don’t have.

Of course, he wants to win all of his wrestling matches. He’s a natural competitor. But if he drops one? Well, he knows his world won’t end. He’s endured the loss of more important things.

“If he does lose, I know how he’ll respond — he’ll be sad for a bit, then get over it quick and get back to work,” Wilson said. “He’s humble, pleasant, intelligent and exceptionally disciplined. All of that comes not as a result of the things that he’s gone through, but from his response to the things that he’s gone through.”

Every day, Holston works as hard as he can to live up to the promise that Jery saw in him. That’s what keeps him going through the good days and bad days. His father’s presence always will be an integral part of who Adam Holston is.

“I do a lot of things for my dad,” he said. “I don’t do what I do for myself as much. He always told me that I’d have the best junior and senior year wrestling and that I would be so much better. I never believed him. I didn’t think that it would be that way. I do everything to prove him right. I think that’s my biggest motivation.”

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