SIDELINED 2020
With the heart of a warrior
Hermiston’s Trevor
Wagner overcomes
gunshot to excel in
three sports
By ANNIE FOWLER
For the East Oregonian
H
ERMISTON — A tragic
accident when he was 9 years
old had doctors telling Trevor
Wagner he may never play
sports again.
Not only did Wagner prove
them wrong, he is a star three-sport
athlete at Hermiston High School.
“He’s always been a hard
worker and a good kid,” Hermis-
ton football coach David Faaeteete
said. “He doesn’t talk much, he just
works, and his work ethic is infec-
tious. He is a good teammate.”
Wagner, who plays football and
baseball, and wrestles for the Bull-
dogs, had just finished third grade
when he was involved in a shooting
accident that led to a helicopter ride
to Portland, three surgeries and a
two-week stay in the hospital.
“We live about 25 minutes
out of town,” Wagner said. “My
grandma told us there was a badger
in our yard and we (with 14-year-
old brother Andy) went full Army
to get it.”
They never found the badger
and eventually gave up the fight.
Their parents, Tammy and
Lucas Wagner, were heading out,
and told the boys to clean the guns
and put them away.
That didn’t happen right away,
but when the boys got around to it,
Andy tripped, and the gun he was
holding dropped and discharged,
firing a .22 caliber bullet through
his brother’s left leg right below the
knee.
“I fell back and blood was
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Trevor Wagner, a Hermiston High School senior, is a three-sport athlete
competing in football, wrestling and baseball.
squirting out of my leg both ways,”
Wagner said. “My brother took
my sister’s (Cassie) belt and made
a tourniquet. We packed it in tow-
els and Andy ran next door to my
grandparents’ house.”
Doug and Pat Wagner took their
grandson to Good Shepherd Med-
ical Center in Hermiston. From
there, Wagner and his mom were
put on a helicopter and were flown
to Oregon Health & Science Uni-
versity in Portland.
“I fell asleep at Good Shep-
herd. When I woke up, I was on a
stretcher in the helicopter,” Wagner
said. “I fell back asleep, then I was
on top of OHSU and headed to the
operating room.”
The bullet didn’t shatter the
bone in his leg, but it did leave a
small hole. The bullet also missed
the growth plate. Doctors also had
to repair an artery in his leg.
“I was in the hospital for two
weeks and on crutches for a couple
of months,” Wagner said. “When
we went back to get the stitches
out, my skin had grown over them.
They had to cut the skin. That was
the most painful part.”
At the time, Wagner didn’t give
much thought to playing sports,
but he still remembers the compas-
sion, or lack thereof, shown by his
older brother.
“Not long after I got home, it
was fair time,” Wagner said. “He
(Andy) didn’t even buy me an ele-
phant ear.”
Fast forward to his senior year,
and Wagner is getting ready for his
final year of sports with the Bull-
dogs, which will start with wres-
tling at the end of December, fol-
lowed by football and baseball.
“It’s not weird,” Wagner said.
“It’s the same time frame for wres-
tling. But I’m 195 pounds right now
— that would be a good weight for
me for football. You can be upset
about it, but there is nothing you
can do. You just have to roll with
the punches.”
That began with spring
sports being canceled because of
COVID-19.
“It was a little difficult,” Wag-
ner said. “We got to practice for
two weeks and then we didn’t get
to play. Once school got canceled, I
just started going to work.”
Of the three sports Wagner
does, he might be best at wrestling.
He placed fifth his sophomore
year at 160 — the first year Herm-
iston participated in the Washing-
ton Interscholastic Activities Asso-
ciation (WIAA). As a junior, he
was third at 160 pounds.
But, wrestling is not a sport
Wagner sees himself competing in
at the college level.
“College wrestlers are a differ-
ent breed,” Wagner said. “That’s
not me.”
Football is more to his liking,
which Faaeteete likes to hear.
“He is our leading receiver,
kicker and defensive player com-
ing back,” Faaeteete said. “We
could look at this as ‘poor us’ or an
opportunity to get better. He has
that mentality — pick yourself up
and get going.”
Wagner was named to the
Mid-Columbia Conference second
team as a punter last season. As a
receiver, he caught 62 passes for
623 yards and four touchdowns. He
also ranked seventh in the MCC in
scoring with 70 points.
College sports are on Wagner’s
mind, with football taking the lead.
“I have been playing sports year
around since I was in the sixth
grade,” he said. “I think for me,
it is football. Baseball is fun, but
it doesn’t compare to the school
spirit that comes with football.
You are waiting for the stands to
fill up, and waiting in the tunnel to
run out. Nothing compares to it for
me.”
There haven’t been a slew of
offers coming in, but he wonders
what might have been if not for that
particular July evening.
“Who knows, if I didn’t get shot,
I could have a full ride to Alabama
by now,” he said with a laugh. “I
blame Andy.”
5 QUESTIONS
WITH TREVOR
WAGNER
Favorite sport to play
and why?
Whatever is in season.
Probably football or
baseball. Wrestling is a
lot of work.
Favorite sport to
watch and why?
That’s tough. With foot-
ball, you can dial in on
a position. Wrestling is
fun to watch, and I know
a lot of guys. Baseball
is more fun to play than
watch.
Favorite thing to do
when you’re not
playing sports?
I hunt and fish a lot. We
have a cabin in Alaska.
What is your favorite
moment in high school
athletics so far?
Winning state football
my freshman year. It was
cool to be there. Placing
at state wrestling, and
playing baseball with
the same guys since fifth
grade.
A fun fact about you
that few people know?
My left foot is one size
smaller than the right.
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