The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lake Erie College teammates eye titles
Rosborough, Boggs have wrestled for Riverside and Lake Erie College
Evan Rosborough and Nick Boggs each have a shot at national titles in the Division II NCAA tournament.
They’ve known each other since they were 4 years old.
That might seem like a lifetime ago for Lake Erie College wrestlers Evan Rosborough and Nick Boggs.
It only amplifies what’s ahead together as the best friends from Riverside High School eye their last tournament as teammates.
Rosborough is a senior, Boggs a junior.
Each has a shot to win a national championship next week in Birmingham, Ala., the site of the Division II NCAA tournament.
Winning titles as teammates would make history. Lake Erie College is waiting for its first NCAA champion in wrestling.
The Storm will have five wrestlers at the D-II tournament.
But for Rosborough and Boggs, the trip will be extra special.
“We feed off each other so much,” said Rosborough. “Nick’s the hardest worker I know. Watching him practice every day, that’s helped me tremendously. Going to nationals with him and the rest of the guys is really special.”
Said Boggs: “It’s kind of nerve-wracking, but I’ll be there for him (at nationals), and I know he’ll be there for me.”
LEC coach Kevin Hoogenboom’s team has high aspirations next week. Joining Rosborough and Boggs are regional champs Blake Gogouski and Nick Vandermeer and regional runner-up Tyler Hughes.
All head to nationals because they believed in a new philosophy instilled by their coach before the start of this season.
“It was our expectations, and our commitment,” said Hoogenboom. “We mandated more things, and developed more of a mindset. The message was we’re going to put the work in.”
Rosborough and Boggs accepted their coach’s challenge, and the results have shown.
Rosborough’s and Boggs’ stories are different, but they have led to a chance to fullfil a lifetime dream: Being a national champion.
Boggs’ journey
Boggs came to LEC as a promising recruit, placing at the Division I state tournament as a junior and senior at Riverisde.
As an LEC freshman, he was 14-13. A year later, he won 24 matches and seemed on his way to being a national qualifier. He came up just short at the regional tournament.
This season has seen a huge jump. Boggs took off from the start, and heads into the D-II NCAA tourney 29-7 and ranked the No. 2-ranked 149-pounder in the country by intermatwrestle.com behind nemesis Nick Goebel of Findlay College. Goebel has beaten Boggs four straight times, dating to last season.
At last week’s NCAA regional, Goebel defeated Boggs, 5-1, in the 149-pound final, but it was 0-0 entering the third period.
Boggs knows there’s plenty of work to advance to the NCAA final on March 11, but the dream is there. Goebel will likely be waiting if Boggs advances.
“The goal was national championship at the beginning of the year, and that’s still the goal now,” said Boggs.
The junior has fully embraced his role as an LEC student-athlete. He’s majoring in criminal justice,
and hopes to be a lawyer, but there’s more to Boggs on campus.
He’s a member of the student advisory committee, which oversees NCAA rules and fund raising. He’s also serves in an ambassador role for the school, and a campus tour guide for recruits. Somehow, Boggs finds time for wrestling.
“Nick does everything well, whether it’s wrestling, in school or around the campus,” said Hoogenboom.
Rosborough’s journey
While Boggs’ ascension has been gradual, Rosborough, a 197-pounder this season, was a hit immediately at LEC.
As a freshman, he qualified for the national tournament, and with an eighth-place finish, became an All-American.
“Things came easy for Evan as a freshman,” said Hoogenboom. “Then things got harder.”
As a freshman AllAmerican, scouting reports emerge and sneaking up on opponents goes out the door.
Still, Rosborough had success following his smashing debut. As a sophomore, he had 29 wins, including a D-II-best 21 pins, but missed out on the national tournament.
As a junior, he went 2110, and again missed on becoming a national qualifier because of a knee injury sustained at the regional tournament. He tore the LCL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee during the tournament.
Doctors told him it would be a nine-month recovery process. He was back in five — with a new outlook as a student-athlete.
“(The injury) was a humbling experience,” said Rosborough, a business administration major who aspires to be a congressman by age 60. “It made me take things a little more serious, including (my academics). I had my best semester (while rehabbing), and made the dean’s list. (An injury) like that hits you pretty hard.”
His senior season presented other road blocks. In midseason, he battled bouts with strep throat and pneumonia, forcing him to miss about 10 matches.
At last week’s regional tournament, Rosborough lost in a semifinal bout to No. 4-ranked Matt Rudy of Limestone. In his thirdplace match, Rosborough won, 2-0, against Kevin Christman from Tiffin.
At 19-6 on the season, and not ranked nationally, Rosborough — who’s four wins from tying the school record for career wins (105) — might enter the national tournament under the radar.
For Rosborough — and Boggs — that’s fine by them.
“We’re ready to go,” said Boggs.