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Alpena’s Austin Bush signs with Olivet

News Photo James Andersen Alpena’s Austin Bush signs his Letter of Intent to join the Olivet College wrestling program as his parents look on.

ALPENA — Whether he’s working out, practicing or in the middle of competition, Austin Bush pushes himself to give 100% in everything he does.

That drive to succeed paid big dividends for Bush last season and opened the door for him to compete at the next level.

Bush, a recently graduated Alpena High senior, signed his Letter of Intent to join the Olivet College wrestling program on Thursday.

“It means a lot,” Bush said of signing his letter. “From Day One, I just fell in love with the sport of wrestling. It’s just very competitive and I just really liked it.”

Bush wrestled just one season for the Wildcats, but made sure to make the most of it. He was one of three Alpena High wrestlers to qualify for the state finals, giving Alpena representation there for the first time since 2014.

News Photo by James Andersen Alpena’s Austin Bush, seated, is surrounded by members of his family after signing his Letter of Intent to join the wrestling program at Olivet College on Thursday,

On his path to qualifying, Bush won a district title at 125 pounds and finished second at regionals. At the end of the season, he was named to the Big North Conference first team.

Bush’s work ethic immediately stood out to Alpena coach Matt Kowalski, who said coaching Bush was a treat.

“As soon as he gets in the wrestling room or working out, it’s 100% all the time,” Kowalski said. “He went after it every time. When you get in the match, no one worked harder, no one wanted to win more than Austin.”

Bush said Kowalski, who took over Alpena’s program this year, was instrumental in his success as well as his teammates’ success.

Mason Bray and Declan Genova also qualified for the finals this season and four Wildcats earned all-BNC honors at the end of the year.

“He played a very serious role in it,” Bush said of Kowalski. “He was always there with me. He was always encouraging us, always pushing us to be the best.”

Bush, who plans to study exercise science, is hardly the first Alpena wrestler to join the Comets. Former Alpena wrestling coach Jake Stenz wrestled at Olivet in the early 2000s and many Alpena athletes have signed with Olivet in other sports in recent years.

When he visited Olivet’s campus, Bush said he liked the school’s support for the wrestling program. Despite his success this past winter, Bush knows he’ll have to continue to push himself to have success at Olivet.

“It’s a different game out in college,” Bush said. “It’s a lot more physically demanding.”

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