By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Like father, like son.
That age-old adage certainly holds true for the Otsego father-son duo of Jesse and Lane Blanchard when it comes to the wrestling mats.
During the Three Rivers Super Duals earlier this month, Lane Blanchard—a junior at Otsego High School—joined his dad in the exclusive 100-win club.
Jesse Blanchard, who reached 100 victories during his senior year at Otsego in the early 2000s, said watching his son accomplish the feat was special.
“It was much more satisfying to see Lane reach 100 varsity wins than achieving it myself,” Jesse said. “He works hard and does things the right way. Lane made the decision to bump up a weight class to take on a highly ranked, undefeated wrestler for his 100th win to push himself and get prepared for the postseason.
“I think that it is very special for us to both share the honor of winning at least 100 matches. There can’t be too many other Otsego wrestlers that can say that they have achieved 100 wins as father and son.”
Lane was excited to share this honor with this dad … especially since he did it a little earlier in his career.
“It feels great to share this with my dad because of how competitive we are,” Lane said. “And the fact that I achieved my 100th win a year sooner than he did is nice, too.”
Brandy Blanchard—Jesse’s wife and Lane’s mom—said wrestling has been a source of bonding for Lane and Jesse.
“Watching Lane earn his 100th win was better than I could have ever expected,” she said. “He has put so much work in over the years, but he has worked especially hard this last year. We are very proud of his commitment to the sport and can’t wait to see where it takes him.
“Getting to see him enjoy this sport with his dad over the years has been so special and it just keeps getting better.”
Deepening the connection between father and son is that they both wore the same T-shirt following their milestone wins.
That’s right. Lane found the T-shirt Jesse wore on the day of his 100th win and decided to wear it for his special day.
“I was going through pictures with my dad and saw him in the shirt,” Lane said. “So, I decided to wear it because it was always his favorite shirt and since we had matching shoes I figured I would wear the same shirt he did, too.”
The shirt had been stored in the Blanchard’s basement for years prior to Lane deciding to wear it.
“Having Lane wear the same shirt that I wore in high school the day that I recorded my 100th win was icing on the cake for me,” Jesse said. “I could have never dreamed that it would work out the way that it did.”
While he’s excited about his special win, Lane said it is just one step on the road to what he hopes is even more success.
“It was a good milestone to hit, but I have other goals in mind,” he said. “My goals for the rest of the season are to place in the top five at the (individual) state tournament.”
