KINGWOOD — The stage was similar for Terrance Fanning — he wrestled not once, but twice, on state championship Saturday night at the then-Big Sandy Superstore Arena along the Ohio River in Huntington, representing Preston High.
This time, though, it was for a national title at the NCAA Division II championships in March 2018 in Cedar Rapid, Iowa, wrestling for Wheeling Jesuit.
While Fanning did come out on top during both title runs with the Knights — winning the 195 weight class as a junior in 2013 and the 220 class as a senior in 2014, it was a totally different atmosphere and situation prior to his bout with Notre Dame College’s Kameron Teacher.
Teacher, the No. 1 seed in the nation for the Division II 288 weight class, was a Columbus, Ohio, native and had dominated his class the entire season. Fanning had been almost equally as impressive, coming into the championship match with a 30-6 record. The seeding heading into the tournament wasn’t quite what Fanning hoped, but he was used to it.
“Through my entire career, I’ve always been the underdog or even just an afterthought,” he said. “So I thrived when people weren’t looking for if I didn’t have any expectation to win from outside sources, you know?
“I just wrestle and like to shut people up with my actions rather than words.”
During his run, Fanning upset No. 4 Caleb Cotter, of Central Oklahoma – who had pinned him at National Duals earlier in the season – by a 10-7 decision, and No. 6 Mitchell Eull from Minot State, 6-3, in the first two rounds.
Then on Day 2 during his semifinal match, Fanning beat No. 12 Cody Johnson out of Colorado State-Pueblo. The unranked wonder kept plowing through the field on his way to the national title match.
Every opponent along the way was ranked, including one top five, but the biggest threat still loomed in Teacher. However, despite the looming presence, there was almost no animosity leading in, something outsiders typically don’t associate with wrestlers.
“It’s funny, all other wrestlers besides heavyweights don’t like to talk and are very serious,” Fanning said. “Heavyweights, we’re all friends for the most part. Teacher was one of the nicest dudes you could talk to and I respect him so much because our matches were intense, and we both always gave it our all to each other. After every match, we would always be respectful. In a wrestling aspect, I respected what he could do and was aware of it, but I never changed my game plan or my wrestling — only honored his abilities and was aware of what to watch for.”
Ready to win a title
Though he had wrestled in important matches before, Fanning had an uneasy, but excited feeling when he woke up the morning of Sunday, March 11.
“The title matches were amazing at Preston, however, wrestling in college is a different beast altogether,” he said. “I was nervous because I wanted to win this title for my coaches and my teammates, and everyone who has helped me in my 19 years of wrestling. But I was excited and ready to give it my all.”
As a reward for making it that far, wrestlers are given special individuals entrances. With smoke blowing toward the tunnel, the only thing Fanning was originally worried about was not making a fool of himself in front of everyone.
“Every single step felt so heavy and all I was thinking was, ‘Don’t trip, don’t fall,’ ” he said with a laugh. “But once I stepped onto the mat and saw my entire team cheering for me, and felt that energy and support, I was complete and ready to do whatever I needed to win and make them proud.”
The plan against Teacher was simple — take it one minute at a time. With a complete plan in place using the advice of coaches Danny Irwin and Sean Doyle, Fanning felt prepared to do what he had to do to win.
And then the match started.
“That finals match … was different,” he said. “It was as if I wasn’t wrestling. All I heard were my two coaches. Whatever they said, I did. They controlled me. When they said move left, level change, anything, even reminding me to breathe — I always forgot to breathe, not a lie — I did. Once I got my final take down and looked at the clock and saw 9.9 seconds left, I was confused. I forgot what I was wrestling for or where I was at, and writhing half a second, it all come flooding back and then the whistle blew and I couldn’t believe it.”
A national champion was crowned.
As an unranked wrestling coming in, Fanning beat four ranked opponents, including two in the top five nationally along the way.
“Terrance Fanning was dialed in and he is a force to be reckoned with as the entire nation noticed over the last two days. It was so much fun being in his corner this year and to cap it off like that will be something no one will ever forget,” Irwin said after the match. “Him winning a national title puts our program on another level and for the overwhelming majority of our team to witness it firsthand will undoubtedly make this a regular occurrence. With that, the top student-athletes know they can get a top-notch education and pursue their highest aspirations athletically.”
What followed
Fanning and Teacher became a bit of a rivalry following the title match, including three meetings the following year in 2019 during both’s senior campaigns.
Teacher got the best of Fanning at the Findlay Open tournament, but Fanning bounced back with a win at regionals. However, Fanning’s career came to an end in the national semifinals at the hands of Teacher, bringing everything full circle.
Wheeling Jesuit did finish second nationally as a team that season, so it was a great success for the program. But the excitement was short-lived — not long after the team arrived home from nationals, Irwin left for West Liberty, and due to the school’s financial struggles, the wrestling program was cut entirely.
The school ended it Jesuit affiliation in 2019 to become simply Wheeling University, and it was announced in May that the wrestling program would be revived, hoping to return to where it left off as one of the best Division II programs in the nation, thanks in large part to Fanning’s contributions.
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