Alburnett’s Eaghan Fleshman has overcome personal loss, powers on to state wrestling tournament

ALBURNETT — Eaghan Fleshman brings a shirt with him to every event.

Every time he looks at the Iowa wrestling top, he is reminded of how he started in the sport of wrestling and the “why” that drives him to be his best in anything he does.

The shirt belonged to his late father, Michael, who wore it in the hospital as he battled diabetes and Myotonic Dystrophy.

The touch, the sight and even the scent of it floods Fleshman with memories of his biggest fan, the man who took Fleshman to his first wrestling practice at the age of 3 and a source of motivation.

“I carry that to every tournament of just a reminder of what's my why,” Fleshman said. “Especially now, it’s a cool little memorial.

“My why is just kind of making my parents right. They didn't do all of that for nothing. Doing it for myself as well, just trying to prove everybody that I'm more than just a younger brother. I’m becoming better than everything that's been in place for me.”

The Alburnett sophomore has persevered since the death of his father in November and has produced an impressive season that will culminate with the Iowa High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament Wednesday through Saturday at Casey’s Center in Des Moines.

Fleshman (51-2) is the No. 1 seed at 285 pounds in Class 2A, which begins Thursday. He earned a first-round bye and will face the winner of Sioux Center’s No. 16 Thai Cam and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s No. 17 Corbyn Padgett.

"I’ve just got to capitalize,” Fleshman said. “Obviously, I've had a good season, so far, but a good regular season doesn't mean anything if you don't have a good postseason … all that really matters is this last week or two.”

With all the wins he has amassed this season, he suffered his biggest loss shortly after practice started. Michael Fleshman died Nov. 20 at age 45 after a multiyear fight with Myotonic Dystrophy, a form of muscular dystrophy that causes muscle loss and weakness and can affect organs.

Losing a parent can be tough and can be a struggle for a teenager. Alburnett Coach Clayton Rush said Fleshman has demonstrated resolve in the face of adversity, sharing in loss with two teammates, who had a grandparent die and another’s mom diagnosed with breast cancer.

“We've really been hit by it this year,” Rush said. “But he's handled it in a very mature fashion. He had a couple days there where he needed to do Eaghan things, which was perfectly fine. Outside of that, he's just held it together really well.”

Michael, and his wife, Courtnie, provided unyielding support and never missed the activities of their four sons, including Fleshman, his older brothers Easton and Emmitt and younger brother, Elliss.

Fleshman recalled his dad waking up at 5 a.m. to travel to a nearby tournament or the immeasurable miles put on his dad’s black Chrysler 300 that transported them to competitions in Tennessee and treks as long as 17 hours.

“It's just kind of a testament to him and both of my parents and kind of how they raised us,” Fleshman said. “They were always there. They always wanted to push us to be better than them and be better for ourselves and our future.

“It's kind of just like crazy to see, like other kids’, their parents not into that as much as ours were. It's just fun to look back and realize, ‘Oh, he really loved me’ and he pushed me to be the best I could be.”

Rush met Michael while coaching Easton at the Disney Duals in Orlando, Fla. He witnessed the support, regardless of the season. If the Fleshmans had an activity, Michael would make it out, even when his physical health made it a struggle.

“He didn't miss much, if anything,” Rush said. “I kind of got that vibe when he was down there. You see somebody who's maybe not the best health physically and he was right there. He continued to be right there for anything that I was ever at. And that's outside of wrestling. It was football, baseball and anything offseason that Eaghan's done, and he's done a lot of it these past couple years. He was right there watching.”

Now, Fleshman, his mom and brothers have leaned on one another. The have relied on unity and faith to move forward. His brothers made more weekend visits. Easton, a backup heavyweight for the Iowa Hawkeyes, was at the Cedar Rapids Jefferson J-Hawk Invitational to support his brother.

“They're trying that little extra to be at everything just because my father's not going to be there anymore,” said Fleshman, noting his mother has been the family’s beacon of faith. “It’s drawn our family together. It’s created a bond.”

The elder Fleshman was pivotal in getting his son into wrestling. Fleshman said he was told he had an abundance of energy and wrestling helped burn off his rambunctiousness. He had immediate success; winning Pee Wee state titles and his passion grew.

When the sport didn’t seem fun or Fleshman didn’t want to practice, his dad offered encouragement to keep going and inspired him to continue.

“Just different motivational ways he did it,” Fleshman said. “He was just a great figure to look up to.

“Obviously now that it's all in the past, it's like maybe it didn't suck that much. He was just doing it to better all of us, to better me and for our greater good.”

Fleshman has reaped the rewards, becoming one of the state’s top wrestlers. He placed sixth at 215 in 1A as a freshman, posting a 43-9 record. The 6-foot-1, 245-pounder has gotten bigger and better from a year ago.

“Two things stick out,” Rush said. “One is that he pays attention to detail, having explosive hands and being a little more physical to your leg attack. When you are 40 pounds heavier, you can do those things.

“The other thing that he's done a really good job riding guys. It makes a difference in the match.”

Fleshman has also trained at Big Game Wrestling Club in North Liberty. He credited the coaches and partners in helping him improve, allowing him to earn All-American honors in the offseason. One of those partners is Solon’s Jacob Feuerbach, who was a state runner-up at 215 last season.

Feuerbach is 43-2 with one of those losses coming to Fleshman in the first tournament of the season. They could meet in the finals Saturday night.

“We're pretty good friends,” Fleshman said. “He was my practice partner, drilling partner for (Junior Nationals) in Fargo.

“We've gotten pretty tight over this summer and now it's kind of a little fun competition as we go through the season,” Fleshman said. “It's always just business-like. You’re going to go out there and wrestle six minutes hard, no matter who it is.”

Fleshman paused slightly when he thought about his dad not being there to cheer him on in person. He took some solace in the fact that Michael won’t have to fight walking up and down stairs at the arena and will be watching without discomfort.

“One of the biggest things when he did pass was the realization of he's not going to be there for certain events, like this upcoming state tournament,” Fleshman said. “If I do win that first state championship, that's going to be a stinger that he didn't get to see that. But I do always believe that he has the best seat in the house now.”

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