A wrestler wanted to be a champion. Police say he asked for water. Now, he's in a casket.
by Eric Gerhardt & Stephanie Kuzydym, WKRCWednesday, June 1st 2022
https://local12.com/news/investigates/athletes-at-risk/wrestler-champion-police-asked-water-casket-university-cumberlands-kentucky-wrestling-naia-cincinnati-wrongful-death-lawsuit-grant-brace-heat-stroke-preventable-death-collapsedOn August 31, 2020, during the first day of conditioning, University of the Cumberlands wrestler Grant Brace begged for water.
The more Brace begged, a police report says, the more his coaches refused aid.
Athletes don't die from heat without warning signs, but the 20-year-old collapsed from exertional heat stroke, a condition experts say is 100 percent preventable.
For seven months, Local 12 dug through records to find out why Grant collapsed.
Then Local 12 drove to a small town in east Tennessee to meet those who knew him.
In the telling of this story, Local 12 will explore what it costs to create champions.
The wrestling mat is where two forces meet.
“To be a wrestler, you have to enjoy challenging yourself,” said Jason Russell, Thomas More University head wrestling coach.
“Those seven minutes end up feeling like an hour sometimes,” said Ryan Moore, a Thomas More University wrestler.
It’s where months of preparation face off on the mat.
“It’s kind of like you’re in a car driving and you want to go left and the person in the passenger seat wants to go right,” Russell said. “It’s basically you trying to get your opponent to do something they don’t want to do and you want them to do.”
“Lots of twisting and contact in just about every way,” Moore said, “that a lot of people aren’t used to.”
“You’ve got to be tougher,” Russell said. “Better conditioned, mentally stronger.”
“It takes just as much to get good as it takes to stay good,” Moore said.
It’s where there are two outcomes: those who win and those who learn.
“I think that’s the great thing about wrestling is because there’s an individual aspect to it you can feel that individual improvement and feel yourself getting better every day,” Russell said. “Someone who isn’t afraid to work hard and make sacrifices toward their dreams and goals. They’re willing to put themselves through some pain and discomfort to make that happen.”
“Everything either adds up to your goals or subtracts from the possibility of obtaining them,” Moore said.
On this Saturday in Bowling Green at the Mid-South Conference Tournament, Thomas More faces off against other teams in the north division like Campbellsville, Midway, Lindsey Wilson and the University of the Cumberlands.
This is where their preparation and their sacrifices determine who will qualify for the NAIA wrestling national championships.
“To be a wrestler, you have to enjoy challenging yourself too,” Russell said. “And so I feel like that’s part of it where you might get put into a bad position sometimes on the mat but it’s like alright let’s see if I can get out of this one.”
“Pushing yourself is another side of that, that mental that is really hard because a lot of people, as soon as you start to get tired, it’s like, 'It’s alright I can just give up,'” Moore said. “But when you’re out there with four more minutes left to wrestle in a close match and you’ve got to dig down deep and figure out how to win, that really brings out the side most people don’t see of wrestling.”
There's a wrestler not at the tournament.
His name is never announced.
His hard work receives no applause.
His commissioner doesn't immediately recognize his name.
Grant Brace wanted to be a champion.
Instead, he's in a casket.
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