HARDIN — Hardin sophomore Bruno Pallone has some fond memories inside First Interstate Arena in Billings, including watching his older brother Dante win an individual state wrestling title back in 2022.
"I was in sixth grade. It was the biggest thing — I was super happy and jumping around. I was so excited," Bruno Pallone said. "I just looked up to him and I couldn't wait to get into the room and do that myself."
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Bruno didn’t waste any time getting his own state title, as he became one of the state’s most dominant wrestlers last year as a freshman. He capped the season with a tech fall in the 190-pound championship round after pinning his first opponents in less than two minutes, but he knows there’s always room for improvement, regardless of the outcome.
“It's keeping everything in perspective, right? If you go up and pin a kid in 30 seconds, it's hard because you can't get a lot out of it, but the kid works. He works so hard," Hardin head coach Chris Nedens said. "He holds himself to a high standard and is very coachable, so it's easy for him to continue to progress."
“I'm working to go six minutes with every kid. That's the mindset I have going into every match, is go six minutes — go seven minutes if I have to," Pallone said. "Quick, fast and clean, so whenever you reach a guy that's capable at a higher level you're always ready to go."
Bruno credits his partners in the room for helping push him to new heights, but he’s also taken his talents outside of the state to see more of what the nation has to offer.
“He travels a lot. We had six kids wrestle in Fargo (N.D.) this summer. We get to see a high degree of competition, and he does get beat there," Nedens said. "He was at Super 32 this year. I wasn't able to go, but I watched his matches and where we got beat in those positions, and we've been able to correct those, I feel like. That's what we gain from going to those tournaments, so there's always things to work on."
Pallone hopes to get halfway home to becoming a four-time champion later this month, and in doing so he could help Hardin bring home team hardware, as well. Pallone is one of five Bulldogs aiming for a repeat.
“Our kids feed off each other. Once they're doing well they like to see everyone else do well, so that's definitely a positive," Nedens said. "I think more than anything, I think they look forward to competing and they love to wrestle. It gets contagious for the kids that are maybe a little less experienced, so it makes it fun to watch."
Only two weeks remain until wrestlers flood First Interstate Arena in search of state wrestling gold.
