- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 429,757
- Reaction score
- 44
Even though he's gone, Dawson Hogan will leave a legacy on the Salina Central wrestling team.
Hogan died March 14 in a multicar collision on Interstate 70 on his way home to Salina from school at Fort Hays State Tech in Goodland. He will be missed by wrestling teammates, and opponents alike.
Assistant coach Richard Brake said Hogan's death has surfaced memories of the good that came from him.
"You know the old saying, you don't really know what you have till it's gone," Brake said, "and once we found out he was gone, we would start reflecting on these things."
According to his obituary on Koons-Russell Funeral Home, Hogan was on his way home to spend spring break with his family, parents Dana Bonilla Hogan and Steve Hogan, and siblings Sidney Hogan, Jasmine and Selena Merrell; Dakota and Chance Hogan; and Braxton and Kenzie Talley.
With 105 victories, Hogan ranks 13th overall in Mustang wrestling wins. Even with this success, his teammates and coaches will remember him for his quiet leadership.
"He was a great person," said Abram Owings, a junior at Central. "I loved him. He took me under his wing, and I was kind of like a little brother to him."
Owings was wrestling partners with Hogan, meaning the two spent a lot of time training together during practice and were about as close as teammates could be.
"Now that he's gone, it's just heartbreaking," Owings said.
Tyrus Young, a senior at Central, said he started getting getting to know Hogan more after about a year being on the team.
"My sophomore year, he was a senior and I got close with him, and we started hanging out outside of wrestling," Young said. "He was just a great person all around. Anybody could come up and talk to him."
Hogan was a captain his senior year on the wrestling team, and Brake said his leadership was different than some.
"He was what I would call a quiet leader," Brake said. "A lot of his leadership came from example. He was there to talk to and I just admired his mental toughness. I honestly think that's what helped him to the next level."
Brake said even though there may have been people and wrestlers with more talent than Hogan, this mentality led him succeed beyond high school, taking his talents and joining the Fort Hays State Tech wrestling team in Goodland.
"He was about to graduate tech school and going to be an electrician," Young said.
According to a Facebook post from Fort Hays State Tech Northwest, Hogan was nominated for the National Technical Honor Society and was on track to get his journeyman license, graduate and join the electrical industry later this year.
Hogan's time on the team will be remembered for a lot of things, but his demeanor, coolness and calmness is something that will stick with a lot of people.
One story Brake will remember is during regionals of Hogan's junior year, when he was coaching another wrestler while Hogan was on a different mat.
"I remember glancing at Dawson and he was ahead 9-2 or some very comfortable lead," Brake said. "After (this) match was over I went over and Dawson he had actually end up losing like 12-10. I just remember how he handled it."
That was Hogan's final match of his junior year, with the winner going to state and Brake said he knows there was a thought in Hogan's mind of not coming back the next season.
"But he did come back and found himself in the state finals his senior year," Brake said.
How Hogan acted leading up to that state final is also something that will stick with his teammates.
Young said he remembered how calm Hogan was in that time and the next year, when they were getting ready to go to a camp in Colorado, he needed to calm his nerves.
"(Dawson) was going to come, and may drive the bus or something because he had already graduated, but for some reason he didn't, I think they found somebody else," Young said. "I was just on the street there, and I was getting kind of nervous. I just called him and asked him how he used to calm down."
Owings took what he learned, remembered and loved about Hogan to lead him to success, even after finding out about his death.
"I was completely distraught," Owings said. "I found out and we were were at a wrestling tournament. I was in the finals the next day for it. I had beat everybody up until that point."
He said going into the final match, all he thought about was Hogan. Owings won that match, and the tournament, and he will keep the memory of Hogan with him as he continues his wrestling and non-wrestling life.
"I think that in every match I go into now, I'll just be thinking about and representing Dawson, on and off the mat," Owings said.
This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina Central Mustangs wrestling team won't forget Dawson Hogan
Continue reading...
Hogan died March 14 in a multicar collision on Interstate 70 on his way home to Salina from school at Fort Hays State Tech in Goodland. He will be missed by wrestling teammates, and opponents alike.
Assistant coach Richard Brake said Hogan's death has surfaced memories of the good that came from him.
"You know the old saying, you don't really know what you have till it's gone," Brake said, "and once we found out he was gone, we would start reflecting on these things."
According to his obituary on Koons-Russell Funeral Home, Hogan was on his way home to spend spring break with his family, parents Dana Bonilla Hogan and Steve Hogan, and siblings Sidney Hogan, Jasmine and Selena Merrell; Dakota and Chance Hogan; and Braxton and Kenzie Talley.
You must be registered for see images attach
A leader, a friend and a brother to his teammates
With 105 victories, Hogan ranks 13th overall in Mustang wrestling wins. Even with this success, his teammates and coaches will remember him for his quiet leadership.
"He was a great person," said Abram Owings, a junior at Central. "I loved him. He took me under his wing, and I was kind of like a little brother to him."
Owings was wrestling partners with Hogan, meaning the two spent a lot of time training together during practice and were about as close as teammates could be.
"Now that he's gone, it's just heartbreaking," Owings said.
Tyrus Young, a senior at Central, said he started getting getting to know Hogan more after about a year being on the team.
"My sophomore year, he was a senior and I got close with him, and we started hanging out outside of wrestling," Young said. "He was just a great person all around. Anybody could come up and talk to him."
Hogan was a captain his senior year on the wrestling team, and Brake said his leadership was different than some.
You must be registered for see images attach
"He was what I would call a quiet leader," Brake said. "A lot of his leadership came from example. He was there to talk to and I just admired his mental toughness. I honestly think that's what helped him to the next level."
Brake said even though there may have been people and wrestlers with more talent than Hogan, this mentality led him succeed beyond high school, taking his talents and joining the Fort Hays State Tech wrestling team in Goodland.
"He was about to graduate tech school and going to be an electrician," Young said.
According to a Facebook post from Fort Hays State Tech Northwest, Hogan was nominated for the National Technical Honor Society and was on track to get his journeyman license, graduate and join the electrical industry later this year.
Remembering a calm spirit of a wrestler
Hogan's time on the team will be remembered for a lot of things, but his demeanor, coolness and calmness is something that will stick with a lot of people.
One story Brake will remember is during regionals of Hogan's junior year, when he was coaching another wrestler while Hogan was on a different mat.
"I remember glancing at Dawson and he was ahead 9-2 or some very comfortable lead," Brake said. "After (this) match was over I went over and Dawson he had actually end up losing like 12-10. I just remember how he handled it."
That was Hogan's final match of his junior year, with the winner going to state and Brake said he knows there was a thought in Hogan's mind of not coming back the next season.
"But he did come back and found himself in the state finals his senior year," Brake said.
How Hogan acted leading up to that state final is also something that will stick with his teammates.
Young said he remembered how calm Hogan was in that time and the next year, when they were getting ready to go to a camp in Colorado, he needed to calm his nerves.
"(Dawson) was going to come, and may drive the bus or something because he had already graduated, but for some reason he didn't, I think they found somebody else," Young said. "I was just on the street there, and I was getting kind of nervous. I just called him and asked him how he used to calm down."
Owings took what he learned, remembered and loved about Hogan to lead him to success, even after finding out about his death.
"I was completely distraught," Owings said. "I found out and we were were at a wrestling tournament. I was in the finals the next day for it. I had beat everybody up until that point."
He said going into the final match, all he thought about was Hogan. Owings won that match, and the tournament, and he will keep the memory of Hogan with him as he continues his wrestling and non-wrestling life.
"I think that in every match I go into now, I'll just be thinking about and representing Dawson, on and off the mat," Owings said.
This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina Central Mustangs wrestling team won't forget Dawson Hogan
Continue reading...
