Growing up with two older brothers can be rough.
Especially when both boys are great wrestlers.
But for Sean Logue, it’s meant great things.
Logue is a sophomore wrestler on the Father Judge High School wrestling team. And he’s spent most of his life roughhousing with his brothers, Liam, who graduated from Judge in 2019, and Eamonn, who is a senior now. The three brothers are best friends, but boys will be boys and that meant a lot of wrestling around the Logue house.
The younger one rarely won.
“I don’t think I ever beat them, they were always bigger,” Logue said. “They got me tougher and stronger because I would always try to beat them.”
That was the tough part about having two big brothers.
But it was also what made Logue the wrestler he is today.
And it certainly helped him this weekend, when he placed seventh in getting on the podium at the PIAA Class AAA state wrestling tournament in Hershey.
Logue won three matches in a tough 106-pound weight class to become the fourth Crusader to medal in Hershey.
Judge sent three other wrestlers, Matt Kidwell, Brenden Spicer and Logue’s brother Eamonn, and while all had strong showings, they failed to place.
But according to Logue, the medal belonged to everyone on the Judge team for helping him. And he started with his brothers.
“I think the thing that’s helped me the most was my family,” Logue said. “We’re a wrestling family. My brothers helped me so much, not just this year but especially last year. And my dad loves wrestling, too. We help make each other better and that helped me. You need help to get better.
“And this team is so good. Judge is a great wrestling school. We sent four guys. The practices are really intense, and the coaches are so good. If we’re trying something, like working on top for a week, you’ll see us do so much better when we wrestle. They teach you things that make you better.”
Logue may have had a lot of help, but he also helped himself a lot this year.
He finished the season 45-5, was First-Team All-Catholic, won the district title and finished second in the region.
His wrestling helped Judge win the Catholic League team tournament and he heads into his junior year with 81 career victories.
After enjoying a solid freshman season, Logue thinks he took a big step this year and it had nothing to do with his wrestling technique.
“I think the biggest thing this year was I went out and was much more confident,” said Logue, who fell just short of making it to Hershey during his freshman campaign. “Last year I would think a lot. I would get really nervous. This year, I didn’t get nervous. I just went out and wrestled.
“Even (in Hershey), I didn’t get nervous. It was a lot different because you were wrestling in front of so many people and there were a lot of great wrestlers there. I thought I would get nervous. But I didn’t. I just went out and let it come to me. I think that made me wrestle better, because I wasn’t nervous, I was just wrestling.”
Logue defeated Nicholas Allison, of Mifflin County, 4-2 to place seventh. It also may mark the final time he wrestles at the lowest weight class.
After his wrestling was done for the day, he was handed a Hershey bar and a chocolate milk, which he enjoyed since it’s been a long time since he was able to cheat on those.
“I haven’t had chocolate since Christmas,” Logue said. “It was hard cutting, but worth it because I was comfortable. I’ll probably take a week off now and just relax. I’m really sore. I’ll probably just not do too much for about a week and then I’ll start lifting weights.”
Next year, when the Crusaders look to win their third straight Catholic League championship, they’ll be doing it with just one Logue on the roster. Last year there were three, this year there were two.
Liam is now wrestling at the Coast Guard Academy and next year Eamonn is bound for the University of Wyoming.
They won’t be there in person, but like always, the trio will work together to push each other to reach their potential.
“It was heartbreaking yesterday because (Eamonn) came so close to getting a medal, he did great,” Logue said. “We are all really close. Liam had a great year this year, too. He did really well for being a freshman. We talk all the time and we’ll do it next year, too. It was so great to have them. It will be different not having them there because they were great to work out with. They’re great wrestlers and they were bigger. If you can wrestle with a good wrestler who is bigger than you, you can beat anyone in your weight class.”
But with his brothers leaving, it means Logue will have a bigger responsibility in the room, and that’s fine with him. The team isn’t the only one who expects him to grow into the role.
“Next year I should be better,” Logue said. “It helps getting the experience of going to states. There are so many good wrestlers there. When I saw the bracket, I knew it was going to be tough, but I thought if I wrestled the way I can, I could medal. Next year, I’ll have that experience so I’ll want more. This was a solid year, but I want to do better.”
