Former Oak Harbor wrestlers find success, friendship in Indiana

Editor's note: The following story was written by Lynn Houser for the Bloomington, Ind., Herald-Times. It is about two former Oak Harbor residents, Brannigan Barlow and Shawn Miracle. We thought you might enjoy reading it.

By Lynn Houser

331-4381|lhouser@heraldt.com

2/27/2010

Who could have foreseen in 1998, when Brannigan Barlow and Shawn Miracle became sparring partners at a small wrestling club in Oak Harbor, Wash., that they would become best friends while leading parallel lives?

Who could have foreseen in 2003, when the Barlows moved to Indiana, that the boys’ friendship would triumph over three time zones and 2,000 miles?

Who could have foreseen the chance of them being reunited in 2006 and not only still sharing the same passion for wrestling, but also still being the same size so they could become sparring partners again?

Who could have foreseen them attending the same high school for two years, then maintain their friendship after one of them transferred to the rival school on the other side of town?

Who could have foreseen them sharing this area’s highest wrestling honor, the All-Area Wrestler of the Year?

“God works in mysterious ways,” said Lee Miracle, Shawn’s father.

Like father, like son

The boys’ fathers were friends first. Lee Miracle and Trevor Barlow became friends while serving in the same Navy unit in Washington. Lee was a Special Operations recruiter for the Pacific Northwest who started up a small wrestling school for children. One of the first to join was Brannigan Barlow. Since Brannigan and Miracle’s son, Shawn, were about the same size, it was a natural fit. Both kids were crazy about the sport and embraced its rigorous demands. The boys would even run through the paces alongside the Special Ops recruits.

With Washington not being a big wrestling state, quality tournaments are hard to find.

“There might be only one tournament in the state,” Trevor Barlow said. “I can remember leaving at 2:30 in the morning and driving across the state for them to wrestle.”

They had to seek out big tournaments because there wasn’t much competition in their area.

“We wrestled tournaments to get them beat,” Lee said. “That’s how you learn about yourself. Instead of being a big fish in a little pond, it’s better to be a little fish in a big pond.”

Brannigan and Shawn learned that they were competitive at almost any level, but their paths took a different turn when Trevor received orders to Crane Naval Weapons Support Center in 2003. It was a tough separation for the families.

“I guess you get used to it as military families,” said Lisa Barlow, Trevor’s wife and the mother of four. “The boys were so young. They just coped with it. We thought we would never see them (the Miracles) again.”

But the boys maintained a long-distance friendship.

“We both moved around a lot, so we were used to developing new relationships with people all the time,” Brannigan said. “It’s hard to find stuff in common with people. Me and Shawn understood that.”

“Any kind of separation is tough,” Shawn said. “It was hurtful because Brannigan was my best friend. We are basically the same person, in a figurative sense.”

Reunited

In 2006, Lee was due for reassignment. He had several options, one of them being Crane. The chance to reunite with their close friends, the Barlows made for a compelling argument.

So Crane it was.

Not having seen each other in three years, neither Shawn nor Brannigan knew what to expect.

“I had no idea how big Shawn might be,” Brannigan said. “I thought he would be bigger and taller.”

“I came back a chubby, 98-pound, five-foot kid,” Shawn said.

Said Brannigan, “When I saw he was still small, I said, ‘thank goodness,’ because I had stayed pretty small myself.”

“We just hugged each other and started off as best friends again — just like that,” Shawn said.

Although Barlow was slightly bigger, they could pick up right where they left off. By the time they were freshmen at South, Barlow was a 112-pounder and Miracle a 103-pounder. Miracle went 22-18 and won a conference title. Barlow went 30-14 and won a sectional. He was a regional runner-up.

Their sophomore their seasons were closer by comparison. Each won conference, sectional and regional titles. Barlow, wrestling at 119 pounds, went 34-7. Miracle, still a 103-pounder, finished 34-6.

Although Miracle seldom beat Barlow in sparring sessions, he couldn’t have asked for a better partner.

“Brannigan will push you, push you, and push you because he has so much endurance,” Shawn said. “He basically has the same moves I have, so it’s like wrestling a mirror image of yourself, only a little bit bigger. It probably helped me more than him.”

Friendly rivals

But another move would separate them again. According to Lee Miracle, there were some “philosophical differences” with the South coaching staff, and he applied for a transfer to North. It was approved, and he accepted an assistant coach’s position under Perry Summitt.

Transferring to your biggest rival was no easy adjustment for Shawn, but his new teammates welcomed him. In the meantime, he and Barlow maintained their friendship and continued tracking each other’s career.

“It was slightly awkward, but not too bad,” Shawn said.

“It didn’t change our relationship,” Brannigan said. “Shawn was just going to school on the other said of town — no big deal. I still hung out at his house all the time.”

Little big men

Unfortunately for the Barlows, Trevor had to miss much of Brannigan’s high school career because of his military commitment. He has made several deployments to Afghanistan, where his mission entails great danger. He is a member of a bomb squad whose primary function is to detect and, when necessary, defuse Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

From 2006-2009, Trevor was stationed in Maryland and periodically shipped to Afghanistan. He had to rely on phone calls to follow Brannigan’s career from the other side of the world.

“It was tough not having my dad around,” Brannigan said. “You were always waiting for the next phone call. There might be long periods when we didn’t hear from him. That would be frustrating, and it would leave you wondering.”

Being the oldest of four siblings, Brannigan had to be the second man in the house.

“In those three years, Brannigan and my wife (Lisa) were the head of the household,” Trevor said.

“He was my right hand,” Lisa said. “Whatever I needed, he would do. I couldn’t be two places at once, so he would drive Brennan (age 13) to baseball practice or drive the girls (Brooklyn, 11, Brailyn, 7) to church or to the doctor. He had to grow up fast.”

“I was just trying to be positive around my brother and sisters,” Brannigan said. “They don’t have the same understanding I did. I just had to let them know, ‘Dad is OK.’ But I was always thinking about my dad before my matches.”

No wonder Barlow wrestled with a fury.

“Brannigan wrestles a hundred miles an hour,” Lee Miracle said. “Sometimes you had to rein him in because he would get out of position, but on the flip side of that, he could wear down opponents.”

Shawn Miracle had a contrasting style.

“I like to slow it down,” he said. “The best way for me to stay with somebody like Brannigan is to slow him down.”

“Shawn is a unique kid,” Lee said. “As a young kid he wasn’t all that good, not at all physical. But he has come so far. In my 17 years of coaching, he is probably my greatest accomplishment.”

As also the oldest of four siblings in a single-parent household (his mother still lives in Washington), Shawn has more responsibilities than most older brothers.

“I’m on the road right now going to pick up my little brother (Cael, 5),” Shawn said as he was reached by cell phone. “I drop him off at day care before school in the morning and usually pick him up in the evening. It makes you think about having children at a young age. I’ll probably be one of those guys who wait a little longer to have kids.”

The extra distractions and responsibilities have not kept them from excelling on the mat.

Bittersweet end

Their senior years were like carbon copies. Barlow went 43-2, winning conference, sectional, regional and semistate titles. He rose to No. 1 in the

135-pound rankings according to IndianaMat.com. He finished third at state.

Miracle went 42-2, winning conference, sectional, regional and semistate titles. He was ranked as high as No. 9 at 130 and finished fifth at state. Both Miracle and Barlow went 3-1 at the state finals, Miracle losing in the quarterfinals and Barlow losing in the semifinals.

Miracle was able to close his career on a positive note, winning his two consolation matches. Barlow was denied that satisfaction when his opponent forfeited the match for third place.

“Brannigan was devastated,” Lisa said. “He fell into his coaches’ arms crying. It was not the way he wanted to finish his high school career.”

Feeling his pain was Shawn, watching nearby.

“Shawn was just as distraught as Brannigan was, seeing his best friend cheated out of something he wanted,” Lee said. “The culmination of 14 years comes down to that last big tournament. Not many people will ever know the sacrifices Shawn and Brannigan have given -- the birthdays, holidays and meals they have missed. The times normal kids get to relax and be a normal kid, those two were finding ways to get better.”

While Shawn hopes to continue wrestling in college, Brannigan is closing the book on his career.

“I’ve done all that I wanted to do in this sport,” he said. “I’ve learned the lessons the sport has to offer, and now I’m ready to focus on my school, get

my degree and just do other stuff.”

Although neither achieved their goal of winning a state championship, sharing one final honor is special for them.

“I feel so blessed because I know how great a wrestler Brannigan is, how good a person he is,” Shawn said. “I’m glad to be a part of this.”

Branningan Barlow, South

2006-07: (112), 30-14, sectional champion, regional runner-up

2007-08: (119) 34-7, conference and sectional champion, regional runner-up

2008-09: (130) 40-7, conference, sectional and regional champion, state qualifier

2009-10: (135) 43-2, conference, sectional, regional and semistate champion, 3rd at state.

Career: 147-30, 3 conference titles, 4 sectional titles, 2 regional titles, 1 semistate title.

Shawn Miracle, North

2006-07: (103), 22-18, conference champion.

2007-08: (103), 34-6, sectional and regional champion.

2008-09: (112), 34-7, conference, sectional and regional champion.

2009-10: (130), 42-2, conference, sectional, regional and semistate champion, 5th at state.

Career: 132-33, 3 conference titles, 3 sectional titles, 3 regional titles, 1 semistate title.

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