CLEVELAND, Tenn. – There is a sign that hangs over the exit from Bradley Central’s wrestling room. Ethan Hames has heard its message over and over since he was a 5-year-old, 40-pound, first-year member of the Bradley Kids Club.
The sign, which he reads every day but memorized more than a decade ago, reads: “There is a price for greatness. Did you make a payment today?”
That sign has become as much of a Bradley wrestling trademark as state championship trophies and the bear paw print that adorns much of the team’s gear. It has become a way of life for Hames, who is shooting for his third state title.
“I look at that sign every day as I leave the room,” said Hames, already a three-time state medalist. “I think about it when I’m warming up before home meets. It reminds me of the work I’ve put in – the morning lifts and the hours I came in early or stayed late after practice.”
The senior is seeking a spot among the best of the best within an elite wrestling program that has produced 48 state champions, 134 state medalists, 10 traditional state team championships and 11 state duals crowns.
For all of their success, the Bears have had just one four-time state champion (Matt Keller) and three three-time winners (Shawn Cordell, Quinn Gibson, David Graham).
And when he thinks of past wrestlers, coach Steve Logsdon can recall only a handful whom he considers to have been what he termed total packages. Those include Travis Creagan and Justin Spain, who are scheduled to graduate from Ivy League schools Columbia and Princeton in the spring; current University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach Heath Eslinger; Cordell; Damon Floyd, now the Bears’ football coach; and Rusty Blackmon, a three-year starter at Oklahoma State.
“I’ve been fortunate to have some great kids come through here, and only a few were ‘total package’ kids – guys that did what I wanted on the mat, what I expected in the practice room and what I wanted in the classroom and were nice guys to be around,” Logsdon said. “Those guys’ names are on the wall, but they also left a legacy. They were set apart from others who have wrestled here because they had it all – wrestling ability, academic ability, the desire to succeed and they were good kids. Ethan will be remembered as one of those.”
Hames won a state title as a freshman, finished fourth as a sophomore and rallied to win his second state crown last year. He has a 3.85 grade point average and scored a 23 on the ACT.
“Sometimes it’s hard now to imagine him as one of those little tadpoles, but I remember the kid as a 40-pounder in his first year in our kids club. I have literally watched him grow up,” Logsdon said. “On the bulletin board in the wrestling room there’s a picture from several years ago of Chris Marable and Quinn Gibson, and Ethan is right between them. He has grown up around the sport, and he grew up idolizing the guys I think of as total package guys.”
Winning a state title his freshman season allowed Hames to figure out early in his career that he could be one of those special wrestlers.
“I look at that sign and know that Ethan lives it. He has made a payment every day and has as long as I can remember,” Logsdon said.
Hames was embarrassed by such praise from Logsdon, who’s known as a no-nonsense taskmaster.
“It’s nice to be put in that kind of company,” he said. “I just try to outwork everybody.”
His philosophy on life is similar.
“You try your hardest,” he said. “You set high goals and be the best you can be in all things.”
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765.