He did not know it at the time, but one overtime loss turned out to be a very good thing for Cory Johnston.

Johnston, a senior at Glasgow High School at the time, fell 1-0 to Danny Trujillo of Arlee in the 112-pound championship match of the Class B-C state wrestling tournament at the Billings Metra.

At the time, Johnston thought that was his last match. He could not, however, end his career like that. So, Johnston decided to wrestle at Dickinson State University, where he became an All-American.

He also earned a degree that helped him become a math teacher and a coach. He coached in Glasgow, following the footsteps of his father, Mark. Then he coached at Ronan.

This school year, Johnston will enter his 12th year as Butte High’s wrestling coach. He also recently added a new title. Johnston is the Bulldogs’ new head golf coach.

After serving as an assistant to Eric Mankins for the past several years, Johnston moved up into the position when Mankins accepted a job as principal of Butte High’s Career Center.

On Friday, I met with Cory at the Butte High coaches’ office for a fun conversation. Listen in as he talks about his deep Mining City roots, even though he grew up in Northeast Montana.

Listen as he talks about how he always knew his career path would take him to Butte. Listen to hear the passion for wrestling that has helped him turn the Butte High wrestling program into a perennial contender for hardware at the state tournament.

Listen in to hear that he still thinks about that one loss.

Today’s episode is presented by Leskovar Honda, home of the non-commission sales team that always has your back.