COLUMBIA • Eric Bowman hardly wrestled before he walked into Ritenour coach Conye Ausar's first practice session 2008.
But Ausar didn't need to look a second time to know something special had walked in the door. Bowman was more than just another freshman. He was the real deal.
"When he got to high school I knew he could be a state champ," Ausar said. "He had the DNA. ... We don't get a lot of body types like that."
Saturday, Bowman proved Ausar's early read correct. The Ritenour senior banged down a brutally tough road to win the Class 4 152-pound state title. He defeated Skylar Weber of Troy on an 11-5 decision in the final.
Weber (52-3) was the last of a string of he-can't-do-that tests for the 5-foot-6 Bowman. The Troy standout was the last of three 50-win wrestlers Bowman had to beat on his way to the state title. Bowman defeated Austin Eads (55-2) in the first round on Thursday and scratched out a decision against Matthew Lemanowicz (52-2) in the semifinals on Friday.
"I had the hardest draw in the bracket," said Bowman, who finished at 39-4.
Early in his career, that would have undone Bowman. He fretted every change and challenge.
"I was a mental case," he said. "I didn't believe in myself.."
He is a different wrestler today. He is a different person.
A fight at school as a sophomore changed thing. It took him off the mats and forced him to make changes.
"I started listening to adults, and I transformed after that," he said. "Me not qualifying (for state) my sophomore year was the turning point in my life."
A kid who needed focus found it in wrestling.
"I started devoting all my time to this," he said. "I'm a wrestling nerd."
The nerd became an unlikely monster this year. Bowman's season faced a serious challenge in early January when he suffered a concussion in the finals of the All Suburban tournament. Sidelined a month with the concussion, he twisted his ankle in his comeback. The lost time and the balky ankle led to a stumble at last week's district tournament where he lost in the semifinals and finished third.
"I wasn't ready," he said.
Coming out of the district in third place, he faced an uphill road in the state tournament bracket. Everywhere he looked, there was another 50-win opponent. It seemed impossible, but Bowman didn't panic.
His career, his season had managed to get over a series of bumps. No experience, a dust-up at school, the concussion. It was always something. And Bowman always persevered.
"This was all on purpose," he said. "This is how it was supposed to be."
