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Logan Brown has his hand raised in victory against Ohio State.
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February 3, 2008 – WEST LAFAYETTE
Two years ago on on March 4th, 2006 Covington's Logan Brown made Buccaneer history by becoming the school's first state champion with a 9-2 decision over Jeremy Stevens of Ashland Crestview in Division III.
One mat away was another wrestler claiming a state title at 187 pounds in Division II, John Weakley of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.
In spite of finishing his senior season at 52-0 and going through the entire state tournament without allowing a single offensive point to his opponents, Brown was treated to criticism from so-called experts who said he wasn't at the same level as Weakley - who they considered the top 187 pound wrestler in the state.
Then, as college recruiters began knocking on Browns door wanting him to bring his talents to the college level, Brown wondered when and if one program would give him a call - his childhood favorite, The Ohio State University.
The call never came, however, as Ohio State targeted Weakley instead.
Not to be discouraged, Brown was more than happy as Purdue University was the place he wanted to go after meeting with then assistant coach and current head coach Scott Hinkle.
"I was always a fan of Ohio State, but now I'm a Boilermaker and I want to beat them," Brown said at the time.
After red shirting his first year in West Lafayette and recording an 18-8 record in the first half of his freshman year, Logan finally got his chance to wrestle against Ohio State on Sunday.
And at the other end of the mat was the wrestler the Buckeyes coveted over Brown, John Weakley.
"He's been looking forward to this (the match)," said Logan's mother Karen before Logan took to the mat. "All the talk people were doing on the internet (two years ago) has only added fuel to the fire. Nobody respected Logan because he's a kid from a small school."
Brown's match with Weakley was the final match of the dual between the Boilermakers and the Buckeyes, but it was worth the wait for Brown and his gathering of friends who made the trip from Covington to watch him.
The former Buccaneer wrestler took the match to Weakley from the outset, but his aggression cost him a penalty point as Brown shoved the Buckeye wrestler out of bounds.
Still, the tone of the match was established as Brown recorded a takedown on a single-leg to take a 2-1 lead.
Weakley then chose the down position to start the second period and tied the score at 2-2 with an escape.
Less than a minute later Weakley scored on a takedown to go up 4-2, but Brown immediately escaped and continued pursuing his opponent.
As Weakley retreated, Brown scored on another takedown to take a 5-4 lead and began working his man for riding time and possible back points.
With time running out in the period Brown suddenly had Weakley's shoulders headed toward the mat. Unfortunately, the buzzer to signal the end of the period went off before back points could be awarded.
The Purdue wrestler then took the down position to begin the final period and immediately escaped to push his lead to 6-4.
Both wrestlers nearly recorded takedowns in the closing minutes, but each time they ended up out of bounds as Brown recorded the 6-4 win to improve to 19-8 on the season.
The victory, ever rewarding individually, was bittersweet for Brown as his team fell to the Buckeyes by the score of 35-6.
Being the ultimate team player, Brown didn't discuss his personal triumph. Instead, he expressed his ambition to see the young Purdue team bounce back.
"We're better than this," Brown said. "We wrestled much better as a team against Michigan and Michigan State. We just lost some close matches today, but we'll be alright because we'll keep working hard."
For Brown, hard work has always been rewarded.
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