The odds were against Brandywine wrestler Chanc Ravish before he was even born.

“At birth there were a lot of complications and there was a slim chance that I was even going to live,” said Ravish. “My grandma (Marylyn Luse) gave me my first name because of the situation I was in. To be unique there was no E at the end of my first name.”

The kid with the unique first name has made a name for himself wrestling for the Bobcats.

Ravish, who started wrestling when he was in the second grade because of his love for professional wrestling, has been on the Brandywine varsity wrestling team for four years. His 119 career pins ties a school-record. Ravish has been to the state finals as a freshman, sophomore and junior. He finished All-State as a sophomore after placing eighth at the state finals at 130 pounds. Last year, he was state runner-up at 130 pounds after losing to New Lothrop’s Jacob Perrin, 5-3, in the title match.

“That drives me a lot,” said Ravish about last year’s loss at the state finals. “I have a good chance of seeing him again this year at the state finals. All I think about is winning a state championship.”

Wrestling at 140 and 145 pounds this year, Ravish has looked like a state title contender against most opponents. He stands at 35-2 with his lone losses to Buchanan’s Jeff Mucha. Mucha has beaten Ravish, 5-3 and 3-2, during the season.

The 5-3 loss at last Saturday’s Berrien County Meet was more painful to Ravish because of what happened after the match. He threw his headgear into the stands after the match and earned a flagrant misconduct penalty, which prevented him from wrestling in Wednesday’s Lakeland Conference Tournament. Brandywine entered that meet with a 25-4 dual meet record and a 3-0 league mark. Ravish also didn’t have the opportunity to repeat as a first team All-Lakeland Conference selection.

“My intention was the throw my head gear to my mom in the stands so I could get into the hallway and not make a scene,” Ravish said. “But, you can’t throw your head gear, regardless of your intentions. I knew I had embarrassed the team. It hurts the team not being able to wrestle at the conference meet.”

“Chanc is very competitive and hates to lose,” said Brandywine coach Rex Pomranka. “But you have to win and lose with dignity. He was angry and upset with himself about what had happened.”

The intense drive to succeed drove Ravish back on to the mat a day after the Berrien County Meet. Instead of sleeping in on Sunday morning, Ravish worked with assistant coach Wes Fike at the high school from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

“I was frustrated about how I lost (at the Berrien County Meet) and I had to get back at it and try to prevent what was holding me back,” Ravish said.

Pomranka doesn’t want to put too much pressure on his wrestling standout as he winds down his senior year.

“I feel like he can go all the way,” the Bobcats coach said. “But, he needs to take it one match at a time and give 100 percent and and see where that takes him.”

Mental toughness may determine how well Ravish does in the future.

“I’m pretty confident that I can beat anybody if I’m in the right state of mind,” Ravish said. “In tough matches my mind isn’t always with me. I have to conquer that.”