Kelly reacts to her son’s first-round win during the state wrestling tournament at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center in Columbus, which features Adam’s signature tongue wag.Cleveland.com photographers Josh Gunter and John Kuntz followed the Eagles throughout much of the season, capturing photos of wrestlers on and off the mat leading up to the state tournament.St. […]
Kelly reacts to her son’s first-round win during the state wrestling tournament at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center in Columbus, which features Adam’s signature tongue wag.
Cleveland.com photographers Josh Gunter and John Kuntz followed the Eagles throughout much of the season, capturing photos of wrestlers on and off the mat leading up to the state tournament.St. Edward advanced all 13 wrestlers in attendance to the semifinals of their respective weight classes.With a little time to kill before their weight class, Butler and Jarrel Miller flex and goof around to keep the nerves down. Butler lost his championship match, 5-1, against Massillon Perry’s Joseph Sanderfer.
Jan. 4: Tri Meet at St. Paris Graham High School
He finished the season as a state runner-up, compiling a 27-10 record along the way.
Here’s a look at Butler’s season:
Just before the start of the meet, the music goes quiet and the team comes together for a prayer. Butler leads the group and then it’s time to go to work.
“It’s different. I like the role. I like being in charge. I like leading my guys. I like coming in as a unit and being together. It makes us a better team. Makes me a better person. So I like it a lot. Being a senior leader, I think it’s really helped me grow myself and helped them grow as well.”
Jan. 6: Endurance workout
Weigh-in began shortly after 8 a.m. in the gym as the area wrestlers lined up by weight. Butler made weight then had to chill for two hours before the competition began.
Before the start of the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association duals tournament district qualifiers at St. Edward, the practice gym is hot and noisy with the sounds of wrestlers warming up and music playing over a speaker.
St. Edward wrestlers hit the road for a three-hour drive to state powerhouse St. Paris Graham High School to begin the month of January with a tri-meet against Graham and Columbus Bishop Watterson.
As captain of St. Edward, Butler gathers teammates in the locker room after their meet to fire his them up after head coach John Heffernan told his wrestlers that he was disappointed in their effort and performance that day.
Jan. 8: Practice
“It feels weird. I mean, to essentially be put in charge of a group of guys, having to lead a team, having to keep them around, no matter what I’m feeling, I have to make sure everybody else is feeling good,” Butler said at the state tournament.
“Heff and our coaches preach it a lot. Just get out here, and attack, attack, attack, put on offense. Don’t be scared. Afraid to score a point,” Butler said after his first-round match. “If our whole team is doing that, I think we got all bonus points so far through this round, that’s gonna help us win a team title. So just go out there, attack, do what you do best, and go win a match.”
St. Edward hosted the OHSAA Division I sectional tournament, the start of the road to Columbus for the state championships.
Adam’s mother Kelly gives some cooking advice to her son at their home. Adam is usually done with wrestling practice and home around 6 p.m. Depending on his weight, he will either eat dinner or go for a run and use the sauna to shed pounds. The Butler basement is furnished with a weight room, sauna and a wrestling mat. Wrestling is the focus.
After the District Qualifiers, the Eagles took down Marysville, Springboro and Massillon Perry to win their seventh consecutive OHSWCA State Duals title.
The two faces of the team, juxtaposed before and after a meet, are drastically different. Just hours earlier, there was an intensity in the room that was now gone as they laughed together and enjoyed a pizza lunch.
As team captain, Butler often leads the team in prayer after practices and before meets.
After pinning North Olmsted’s Stanley Campbell in 39 seconds, Butler won a 21-5 technical fall against Lakewood’s Diezel Edgar to make his way into the district tournament.
Heffernan organized some practice days with different workout focuses. Today was endurance day for the wrestlers. They started with running sprints on the gym’s wooden track above the wrestling room, shifting to long distance and then interval sprints.Next the wrestlers grabbed a partner and worked a fireman’s drill, walking up two flights of steps carrying their partner on their back. Weight room training and working the stationary bike closed out practice that evening.
With two technical falls, a pin at 1:00 and a 7-0 decision Butler punched his state tournament ticket.
Butler was often a blur of speed during practices as he worked on perfecting his technique. Photographer Joshua Gunter used a slow shutter speed to capture some of the motion of the art that is wrestling.
Butler looks for an opportunity to shoot on assistant wrestling coach Zac Carson.
It didn’t take Butler long to win his match, and he was met at the edge of the mat with a congratulatory high five from Heffernan.
He ended his St. Edward career with a fifth-place finish and three runner-up finishes at state, and a 114-42 record.
Butler went 2-1 there with a 19-2 technical fall over Marysville’s Michael Bates, a 40-second pin over Springboro’s Khary McCall Jr., and a 5-4 loss to Massillon Perry’s Joseph Sanderfer.
Almost every wrestling move was worked on by Butler and the team during this practice as they sharpened their skills, speed and agility. This installment, the first of three in the series, features St. Edward senior and captain Adam Butler, a University of Virginia commit, during his pursuit of an individual state title at 144 pounds.
St. Edward wrestling senior Adam Butler gets a congratulatory high five from head coach John Heffernan after winning his match during the OHSWCA District Qualifiers at St. Edward high school on February 1. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
