There were some challenges, especially in the classroom. Tukker initially had a piece that plugged into his device while the teacher was talking. He could hear 80 percent of the teacher’s voice and 20 percent of the classroom noise.  

Boe had that device for 2-3 years but ultimately told his parents he just wanted to sit in the front of the classroom on the right side with his device pointed toward the teacher. 

“If his grades had diminished we might have looked at doing something else,” Nemec said. “He likes what he’s doing and he’s getting straight As.” 

The report card on the wrestling mat is just as good. Boe is the 7th ranked wrestler (106) in Class B.

Boe has been good enough each of the last two years to wrestle varsity at most high schools in South Dakota. Philip Area is no ordinary wrestling program and Boe has had to sit behind better wrestlers. 

Last year, he sat behind Kipp Cordes who finished 3rd at the state meet. 

“The 106-pound weight class in Philip has been tough the last four years,” Boe said. “When you have a 3rd place kid in your weight room, it makes you better but it is nice to be on varsity and wrestling every week.” 

Boe came out of his shell last summer when he was asked to go to Des Moines, Iowa, to wrestle in the freshman and sophomore dual tournament. He got the thrill of a lifetime when he earned a spot on team South Dakota’s No. 2 team that wrestled in Florida last summer. 

“It was a blast,” Boe said. “Just being on that stage was awesome and then I got to see a whole different style of wrestling.” 

Last weekend Boe suffered a close loss to No. 5 Karsyn Lhotak of Wagner. He knows he’s got to get better with about five weeks left in the season. 

“I need to work on my movement when we are both up and get better angles on my shots,” he said. “I need to be a little quicker on my sprawling and I need to be more aggressive and put more variety in my tilts.” 

Before every match the Philip Area coaching staff lets the referee and the other wrestler know that Boes can’t hear. 

Boe can feel vibrations, like when his coach is pounding on the mat to get his attention. 

“We’ve been doing this for 12 years and we don’t think much about it anymore,” Nemec said. “Tukker is very good at looking at his coach and can see him waving his arms pounding the mat.”

Boe’s teammates know he can’t hear but that doesn’t stop his buddies from yelling and screaming for him during every match. 

“They know I can’t hear but it is always awesome to look at the sidelines and see my friends cheer,” he said.