The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CANCELLATION HITS HARD FOR ELYRIA GRAD BROWN
Army 197-pounder had been preparing for NCAA championships in Minneapolis
It was supposed to be just another practice.
As J.T. Brown finished practice with the Army wrestling team on March 12, the end of the wrestling season was the last thing on his or any of his teammate’s minds.
Brown had seen how the COVID-19 pandemic was slowly beginning to impact the sports world. But he, like all of his teammates, spent most of his time focusing on things in their control — with the main focus being the NCAA wrestling championships that were set to begin on March 19.
Brown’s spot in the NCAA Tournament was a long time coming. After winning the state title at 182 pounds in 2017 as a senior at Elyria, he took a redshirt year before joining the Black Knights’ wrestling program last season to mixed results. While he finished 15-6, he wasn’t a starter for most of the season, which led to certain points where he says practice began to feel like a chore.
After spending the offseason locked in on getting better, Brown spent this season rekindling that love for wrestling en route to a 18-7 record at 197 and a berth at the national tournament.
“I’m doing what I can but it’s a big shock going from pretty intense training to coming home and not having to train for anything.”
— J.T. Brown
The meet was set for March 19 to March 21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis before that and the remainder of winter tournaments were wiped out.
That focus was taken away in a moment when the Army coaching staff informed Brown and his teammates after practice that the NCAA tournament had been canceled.
Brown’s first emotion, like so many others, was shock. He sat in stunned silence. He helped comfort teammate and senior Ben Harvey, who competed in the past two NCAA tournaments. He tried his best to process the seemingly endless rush of emotions that came his way.
Once the meeting ended, Brown walked back home through a quiet campus, as the rest of West Point was on spring break, meaning he and his teammates were some of the few students left on campus. While no school had officially canceled, he began to pack up his stuff, sensing the writing on the wall. Sure enough, he got an email later that day saying that all of campus was dismissed until March 29th — a dismissal that has recently been extended indefinitely.
In addition to dealing with the lack of wrestling in his life, Brown’s also dealing with the chaos of trying to adapt to online classes midway through the semester.
“I’m sure it’s pretty hectic for the administration and how they’re going to make the semester count because we’ve never done anything like online classes before. It’s very different,” Brown said. “All the classes are relatively small, and we have the most accessible instructors in the country. I could call them at any time and have a conversation with them. Their class is mandatory, and you can’t skip so this is all pretty different.”
Normally, Brown’s stops in Elyria are infrequent and short, as he usually comes home for one week around Christmas and two weeks during the summer. Now he’s home for foreseeable future.
“I’m grateful to be able to be home with my mom and sisters since I don’t get to see them too often,” Brown said. “But on the other hand, it sucks I didn’t get to compete at nationals.”
That disappointment extended to Brown’s high school coach.
“Obviously he’s got the talent, but his work ethic always stood out to me as well,” said Elyria coach Erik Burnett. “Even in middle school, just watching how he grinded every day in the room was incredible.”
With no end date in site for Ohio’s stay-at-home order, Brown’s having to find new ways to workout. At West Point, he would practice five times a week along with additional individual lifting and technique sessions. Now he’s lifting weights in his cousin’s basement.
“I’m doing what I can but it’s a big shock going from pretty intense training to coming home and not having to train for anything,” Brown said.
Brown has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining but that hasn’t taken away any of the sting of not being able to compete on college wrestling’s biggest stage.
“Right after (the cancellation) got announced I was thinking about how I’d rather have gone to the tournament and gone 0-2 because that would have shown me how much harder I would have needed to work,” Brown said. “It’s a big identifier for where you stack up nationally and at least for me that would make me realize that if I didn’t become an all-American how much harder I needed to work or getting the joy of becoming an allAmerican.”
Since he’s been back, Brown has been in contact with some of his former Elyria teammates, one of whom is Cornell’s Ben Darmstadt. Another Pioneers state champion, Darmstadt was also bound for the NCAA tournament as one of the nation’s top 197-pounders. He was 28-6 this season.
“All wrestlers need a little bit of luck,” Burnett said. “Unfortunately, every wrestler in America had bad luck this year.”