The News

Union Pines senior Mike Brennan recently signed on to be a scholarship member of the Appalachian State University wrestling team.

For Brennan, who won the 3-A NCHSAA 182-pound state championship back in late February, the moment marked the realization of yet another goal.

It also capped off an amazing two-year run that saw him go 84-5 in his last two seasons for a Viking squad that captured consecutive runner-up team finishes at the state individual wrestling championships over the same span.

“I look at winning that state title as a stepping stone in my career,” said Brennan. “My next goal is to be an NCAA All-American. Along the way I have other goals that I need to reach to make that happen. The first is to be a starter next year, and then I have to be an NCAA championship qualifier.”

After losing in the semifinals of the 160-pound state tournament as a junior, the goal-oriented Brennan decided he was not going to lose another match in his high school career.

With a 13-4 major decision over Reggie Huff of Southern Nash in the 182-pound title match, Brennan made good on the goal by concluding an astounding senior season by claiming the state crown and closing with a record of 50-0.

With his performance in the state tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum, Brennan became not only the first Union Pines state champion, but the program’s first finalist.

One person Brennan credited as a huge reason behind his winning a state title and signing with an NCAA Division I one school is Chris Vondruska, who recently took over as the head wrestling coach at Union Pines after serving four years as an assistant under Matt Ragsdale.

“Mike is basically the first guy that I have seen go through Union Pines for a full four years,” said Vondruska. “This past season was my fourth year here, and it has just been awesome to see him grow in every aspect as a person both physically and mentally.

“He has just done a lot of growing. Whether it is from his weight, going from 140 to 182 pounds, to his academics and mature demeanor — everything has just grown for him.

“The culminating moment of all that growth was his performance at the state tournament in Greensboro when he took home the 182-pound championship — it was meant to be.”

As a direct result, Brennan became the first wrestler to be placed in a position of posterity in the Vikes’ wrestling room on the Union Pines Wrestling Wall of Champions.

Vondruska hopes the wall, which encircles the entire upper level of the wrestling room, will one day be filled with oversized commemorative state championship brackets along with photos to accompany Brennan’s.

“It is important to have somebody to pave the way whenever you are trying to break a threshold, and that is what Mike has done for us. That is why it is so special for him to be the first person on our Wall of Champions, sponsored by Nutrishop of Southern Pines.”

Two other people behind Brennan’s success are his parents, John and Sandra Brennan, who were in attendance at the signing ceremony.

“This is a great opportunity for Mike,” said John Brennan. “We looked at a lot of different schools and a lot of schools looked at him, and I think we found the right fit with Appalachian State.

“He worked hard in the off-season leading up to his senior year and got to wrestle some of the best kids in the country over the summer. That set him up for his final season, where he was fortunate in being able to work with Chris Vondruska — a former collegiate All-American wrestler — every day.”

Sandra Brennan was especially pleased with the academic advantages she feels Appalachian State University, which wrestles at the NCAA Division I level, offers her son.

“We are just very proud that Mike set a goal and achieved it,” she said. “He is always looking forward to the next goal, and right now he has set his goals in college on being an All-American and placing in the Southern Conference. He already has a list — just like he had for high school — so that doesn’t stop.

“Mike’s academic record through high school was also very high, which was a major reason why he ended up going with Appalachian. It is a quality school that has smaller classes, and when we talked with head coach JohnMark Bentley, he made us feel very comfortable that academics would be fostered in his program.”

Contact F.W. Manning II at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .