Senior 197-pound wrestler DeVaughn Scott has bounced around to many places in his life. Born in Alaska and raised in Michigan as a child, he now resides in Texas after moving there during high school.

After originally choosing Simpson for its computer science program, he’s now in his senior season in Indianola, Iowa. Scott finds himself ranked No. 8 in the country according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Individual Rankings.

“I looked up a lot of places for education and where I could be on a personal level with professors versus going to, like, Arizona State or Iowa State,” Scott said.

Scott currently sits at 20-3 on the season and is the first ranked Storm wrestler since Brett Roberts was ranked No. 9 in 2015. Scott said he wasn’t surprised about the ranking and has used Roberts for motivation over the years.

“My freshman year, Roberts was the best wrestler here,” Scott said. “Although he wasn’t my main practice partner, I would wrestle with him every now and then, and he would always kick my butt. Since freshman year, I’ve been like ‘You know what? I’m going to either top him or get to his level’ and that’s what I aspire to be.”

Placing third at the high school state meet in Texas, Scott knew what it would take to be successful in college. He’s worked hard to show everyone what he can do.

“When I first came up here, no one knew who I was,” Scott said. “Everyone underestimated me. Doing what I’ve done, everyone’s looking out for me now, and that’s just given me more of a drive to just get what some people don’t want me to have.”

Head Coach Nate Hansen is proud of his senior and explained why he’s been so successful this season.

“When he’s offensive, he can attack from a lot of different places and he’s very hard to stop,” Hansen said. “He’s a pretty dynamic guy, obviously really powerful. He’s really improved this year on the defensive side.”

Another thing that makes Scott so special is who he is off the mat, according to Hansen and those who know him.

“He is very well liked on the team,” Hansen said. “He’s a very friendly and humble kid too.”

The most important meet of the year is set for Feb. 22 in Dubuque — the NCAA Lower Midwest Regional Meet. This is where Scott will compete for a chance to advance to Nationals in Roanoke, Virginia.

In order for him to advance, he would need to finish in the top three spots. With many ranked opponents and solid wrestlers in his bracket, Scott knows he has a tall task ahead of him.

“The reason I don’t really look at my ranking that much is because, in our region, we have about five or six guys that are ranked in the top 20, and you can only be top three to advance,” Scott said. “I just know it’s going to be hard regardless.”

With regionals and other important meets coming up, he is keeping a positive attitude to finish out the season.

“For me, part of the goal that you set is the journey getting there,” Scott said. “Even if I don’t make it, I’ll know that I worked my butt off for so many years trying to make it up there, and that will be something that I can take with me.”