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Logan takes a few seconds out of his big night to pose with Branden.
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Logan Brown just had the biggest three days of his life as he became the first wrestler from Covington to capture a state title. It was a monumental accomplishment for a young man who richly deserved it due to his unmatched work ethic.
But, being a state champion in wrestling will never define Logan Brown. Not in my eyes.
That statement may be surprising to those who only know Logan as a wrestler, but those who know him off the mat already knew he was a champion well before he went to state. Those people know Logan as a champion in life.
Let me provide you an example of why I think he is the ultimate champion.
This past November my seven-year-old son, Branden was competing in his first ever wrestling tournament at Sidney High School. Logan was present giving instruction and encouragement to all of the little wrestlers from Covington who were competing that day.
In our specific situation, Logan's presence meant the world to us (myself and my wife), although we didn't realize it as the tournament was to get under way.
At all of the youth wrestling tournaments the kids are instructed to sit in the first few rows in front of the mat they will be wrestling on. That way the folks who are working each mat can find the wrestlers before their match is to take place and get them ready to wrestle.
Branden was sitting in the third row in front of his mat, waiting on his name to be called. In the meantime, he noticed another Covington youth wrestling on the mat next to his. Branden stood up to move a few feet to the right so he could get a better view of the match. He evidently walked in front of an adult, who was trying to watch his son on another mat.
The adult grabbed my son by the arm and launched him down two rows of steps and he came to rest on his back, smacking his elbow on the bleachers as he fell.
Where was I? Unfortunately, I had taken a bathroom break and was gone for about three minutes when the incident occurred. I learned of the events from one of the youth wrestling coaches as I returned to the gym.
My first reaction was to find the guy who did this and, you know, do what any parent would do...kick his tail.
But, then I saw my son curled up in a ball holding his arm crying. Suddenly, I forgot about thinking about the guy who did it and focused my attention on whether Branden was OK.
We did end up filing a report on the guy, but I won't get into the details of that. I will say the guy was from Vandalia Butler, although those around him asked the guy to remove his sweatshirt so we didn't know where he was from. Those folks were more concerned about about that than how much a seven-year-old was hurting.
Here's where Logan Brown comes in.
We took Branden over to the trainer, who was working the tournament that day, to get his elbow checked out. After a few minutes I mentioned to the trainer that my son probably shouldn't wrestle. Immediately Branden demanded he be allowed to wrestle and he forgot about his elbow.
The trainer agreed that there didn't appear to be any damage to Branden's elbow and he could wrestle if he felt up to it. So, we returned to the same place where the incident happened to wait on his first match.
As I sat there, it finally sunk in on what happened and I started to lose my composure. I knew if I sat there I would distract Branden from something he really wanted to do.
Logan Brown came by to check on Branden and I asked Logan if he would hang with him and coach him through his matches.
Logan did more than coach my son. He sat there and turned a frightened kid into a relaxed, calm and confident kid. He got him focused on his match.
By the end of the day, Branden had wrestled three matches, won two and lost one to a tough kid from Graham. The entire day Logan and Jake Wise was there by his side making sure he was taken care of.
As we were driving home after the tournament I asked my son what he thought about wrestling, since it was his first meet. All he said was he love it and wanted to be as good of a wrestler as Logan Brown someday.
As a parent, that really hit home because Logan turned a traumatic situation for a seven-year-old into a positive one for him.
To me, that's why Logan Brown was and will always be a champion.
By Ben Robinson
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