Correspondent photo / Michael G. Taylor South Range’s Tyson Seesholtz,right, locks up with Beachwood’s Caleb Greenwood during the State Wrestling Championships on Sunday in Columbus.

COLUMBUS — Wrestling tournaments, in general, are a family affair.

Driving long distances, often early in the morning and late at night, for all-day events is not for the weak hearted – whether it be the wrestlers, coaches or their families.

But to make it to the OHSAA state tournament, as did dozens of local athletes, is a massive accomplishment. For some wrestlers, simply qualifying for states is a sign that the countless hours of hard work have paid off. For their families, the monetary and emotional price they paid has been reciprocated.

Mike Burns, whose daughter Madison Burns is Howland’s only female wrestler, beamed with pride following Madison’s 140-pound consolation second-round win, which guaranteed her the second state placing of her career.

“Her being a senior, this is the last one,” Mike Burns said. “We came out, we’re on the podium. It’s her third time here. Super proud of her.”

Mike also serves as an assistant coach for Howland’s wrestling team, a role that allows him to sit matside for Madison’s matches but also forces him to understand when and where to coach his daughter.

“It was hard at first, trying to figure out an equal playing ground, where I was dad in the house and coach in the room. Once we found that kind of groove, it all took off from there,” Mike Burns said. “Our little thing was, let’s have some fun and score some points. That kind of put her at ease. And when we’re at home, we’re dad and daughter. We don’t talk about wrestling.”

A self-admitted “train wreck” during Madison’s last high school tournament, Mike sat all weekend next to Matt Zakrajsek, Howland’s head coach, who consistently made an effort to balance the matside energy for Madison’s matches.

“I try to be the level-headed, unemotional one,” Zakrajsek said. “It’s an emotional sport, especially when your child’s involved.”

Zakrajsek has plenty of practice in doing so; in addition to Mike, Howland’s assistant coaches include Jason Neff, the father of Patrick, a 126-pounder, and Greg Mock, the father of Deacon, a 138-pound state qualifier.

“I don’t have blood in this game. These are just Howland kids that I’m coaching; they’re not blood relatives,” Zakrajsek said. “So it’s important I can separate that emotional part, [because] sometimes emotions can take over.”

J.T. Seesholtz, the father of South Range three-time state qualifier Tyson Seesholtz, said he was cognizant of that when he agreed to become a Raiders assistant coach.

J.T., as is the case with many fathers, began coaching his son at an early age and continued to do so for several years, traveling around the state and country together. But there came a point where he realized it may be better to let others guide his son through his wrestling career.

“When he got to middle school, I stopped because he was a better wrestler than I ever was, and I didn’t want to be that dad that would hold him back,” J.T. Seesholtz said. “And then when we moved to South Range, there were some coaching changes, I was asked to help, and I asked him, I said, ‘Am I going to be a distraction? Because I absolutely won’t do it. I’ll just go sit in the stands.’ He was like, ‘No, absolutely not.'”

Although J.T., similarly to Mike Burns, characterized his emotions during his child’s matches to being “run over by a truck,” Tyson and J.T. both said they enjoy the close relationship wrestling helped develop.

“There are ups and downs as with anything, but it makes us so much tighter as father and son,” Tyson Seesholtz said. “The amount of road trips I’ve taken with my old man, the amount of time I’ve spent in a passenger seat while we’re listening to music all the way down to a tournament, or getting taught valuable life lessons by him. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love my dad. He’s my role model.”

Moments before the Division III 150-pound state championship Sunday, Tyson and J.T. hugged, their last embrace before Tyson took the mat for the biggest match of his life.

For the next six or so minutes, as Tyson nearly completed one of the most remarkable one-week turnarounds, J.T. sat nervously matside, occasionally shouting instructions and gesturing at Tyson.

Following the match, which Tyson lost 11-10 to an opponent who beat him 18-1 seven days earlier, Tyson and J.T. hugged again, this time an embrace borne out of sympathy and unspoken pride. Teammates and friends commended and consoled Tyson.

A few minutes later, with everyone else gone, Tyson lifted himself off of the concrete floor of the Schottenstein Center. Tyson and J.T then walked side-by-side down a hallway, ready to do it all over again together.