Wheeling Park’s Brothers Jr. Will Wrestle At West Virginia

WHEELING - Erick Brothers Jr. has accomplished something that only two other Wheeling Park wrestlers have done before him ... win three West Virginia Class AAA state wrestling championships. He will pursue his fourth in less than two weeks.

However, before he goes on his quest for Mountain State history, he made an announcement Monday morning inside the J.B. Chambers Performing Arts Center at Wheeling Park High School.

"First, I would like to thank God, my family, my coaches and my friends that have helped me throughout my wrestling career. Without them this dream would not have been possible," Brothers Jr. said. "Secondly, I would like to thank everyone that has supported me along this journey, but it's not over yet.

"With that being said, I'm proud to announce that I will be staying home in West Virginia and continuing my academic and athletic careers at West Virginia University."

His signing with the Mountaineers continues the northern panhandle pipeline to Morgantown. He will join Oak Glen junior Peyton Hall (165), Cameron freshman Ian Bush (184) and John Marshall redshirt junior Anthony Carman (184) on the Blue-and-Gold roster next fall.

"I feel great. This is a moment I've dreamt about my entire life," Brothers Jr. said. "I've wanted to wrestle at the (NCAA) Division I level ever since I started wrestling when I was young. It's a dream come true.

"It just felt like home to me. The program at WVU is on the rise. They've got some really good guys there now and they've got a really good recruiting class coming in."

Brothers Jr. said he is projected to compete at 197.

"It's a good fit for me. Trying to wrestle at heavyweight is probably too big of a jump for me," he admitted.

"There's always been pressure on me," Brothers Jr. acknowledged. "Whether it was to win my first, my second or my third. There's a little more now because the road is a little more difficult, but I'm just keeping my head down and grinding along looking for that fourth."

To win the fourth, he will have to find a way to defeat University sophomore Brock Kehler who will take a very impressive 49-0 mark into the state tournament, with three of those wins coming over his Wheeling Park rival.

Along with Brothers Jr., only Jason Taylor (1993-95) and Ronnie Green (2004-06) have won three state championships. There have been several to win two in the Patriots' storied history on the mat, but never has an individual captured four.

"This is a really big day for Erick. He has worked his whole career for this. He has dreamed of this his whole career," Wheeling Park head coach Brian Leggett said. "I'm just happy to be a part of this and witness it. Watching him come in as a freshman and knowing what he was capable of and what type of wrestler he was, he was an unbelievable talent. He works year-round towards his goals."

Leggett believes WVU is a perfect fit for him.

"I think he can do great. He's the type of athlete that can hit the ground running," Leggett noted. "If he buys into their program like he bought into ours, he can follow his steps through high school into college and have the same success."

A product of the Wheeling Wrestling Club, Brothers Jr. has a career record of 133-21, with 103 of his victories coming via his school-record 103 pins. In addition to his trio of state titles, he is also a three-time High School All-American, placing fifth nationally as a sophomore; sixth as a junior; and third in the 16U US Nationals in Greco-Roman.

Brothers Jr. has recorded an eye-popping 92 bonus-point percentage.

His coaches, in addition to Leggett, are Justin Goneau, Clay Tucker, Todd Shelek, Danny Doyle and Nate Skrzypek.

He also had contact with Clarion and Lock Haven.

Erick Jr. is the son of Erick Sr. and Tashina Brothers. He has a younger sister, Baileigh.