The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Setbacks power Lake senior’s success
Everyone loves to win, succeed and be a champion.
But in the mind of Kevon Freeman, an occasional ride on the L-train isn’t a bad thing.
Losses, he said, have helped make him the successful wrestler he is today.
Freeman barrelled into his senior year at Lake Catholic with 122 career victories in wrestling to go with a pair of state championships.
But it was his 18 losses — his L-train — that pushed him toward a difficult offseason regimen in hopes of being the best wrestler he can be in his quest to become the only three-time state champion Lake Catholic has ever had.
“Obviously, no one likes to lose,” Freeman said.
“But you always have those losses that teach you a lot. I think you can learn way more from a loss than you can pinning a kid in 30 seconds. It kind of exposes what you need to work on.”
So instead of basking in the glory of a second straight state championship, a devastating state tournament run in which he did not give up an offensive point in the whole tournament, Freeman put himself through a grinder of a summer.
He went to open mat sessions at Lake Catholic and Brecksville. He did the same in open mat sessions at Lake Erie College and Notre Dame College, going up against older wrestlers tested on the college level which Freeman will join after graduating from Lake Catholic.
In short, he tested himself. In some cases, he humbled himself.
All with the intent of being the first three-time champ in Lake Catholic history.
“You know when you go into a college you’re not the top dog,” Freeman said. “In most high school rooms, everyone looks at me like, ‘He should definitely win this.’ In a college room, it’s more like (others are saying), ‘You gotta beat up on this kid.’ It’s a different experience than in a high school room.
“Colleges are bigger and stronger (wrestlers). It pushes you and shows you there is another step and there’s always room for improvement.”
After winning a state title as a sophomore at 132 and a state title as a junior at 145, Freeman again jumped two weight classes this year. He is wrestling at 160 pounds this winter. It’s more of a comfortable weight than 145, which was a tough cut last year, Freeman admitted.
So far the fruits of his offseason work — lifting to be a firm 160-pounder and wrestling against college-aged wrestlers — has paid off.
It might not look like it at first glance, since Freeman’s 15-5 record features more losses than he had all of last year (when he went 46-3). But all of his losses have come at the nationally renowned Walsh Jesuit Ironman and the prestigious Beast of the East tournaments.
He placed fifth at the Ironman and sixth at the Beast of the East. Three of his five losses this season have come to Erich Byelick of Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.)., a Northwestern recruit, two-time placer at the Super 32 and NHSCA Junior Champion. Byelick topped Freeman twice at the Beast of the East and once at Ironman.
“It’s a learning curve,” said Freeman of taking part in such large-scale tournaments.
With the two megatournaments out of the way, Freeman and the rest of the Lake Catholic team are gearing up for the brunt of the season. After an appearance at the Brecksville Holiday Tournament to end the calendar year, the Cougars will embark on a stretch run in January they hope will end with another high finish in the Division II state duals and a good performance in the state individual tournament.
It’s a trip he hopes ends on top of the state tournament podium for the third straight year. A third state title will break the deadlock he currently shares with Anthony Constantino and Anthony Tutolo, each of whom has two titles to their name.
“It motivates me every day,” he said of the quest for a third title. “Every day I’m in the room, I’m thinking about my third state title and becoming history.”
Freeman thinks back to the day he made the decision to make the daily journey from his home in Medina to Lake Catholic for his education and wrestling. It’s a decision he doesn’t regret, and one he said he will miss when the season and school year is over.
He wants to end it the right way. With his teammates and his coaches who helped him get to where he is now.
“Everyone. It’s not just me,” Freeman said. “My coaches put in work. I put in work. My teammates put in work. It’s good to know everyone is doing it together.”