Throwing his hands up in victory wasn’t enough; Brandon Browne had to do it again, and again.
Browne scored a takedown with four seconds left and won his second Big 12 Conference Championship at 174 pounds on Saturday.
He celebrated in the center of the mat with a burst of emotion that was two weeks in the making, following his mother’s death. Browne then sought the embrace of his brother and teammate, Cameron, and his dad.
“(Cameron) said, ‘You know Mom’s proud of you,’” Browne said.
Minutes after the finals match, he was still sobbing.
“I have so much emotion. Not because of the match, but because I just lost my mom,” Browne said. “I just know she’s up there. It’s just harder because of that.”
After gathering himself, Browne couldn’t say much without mentioning her. He said he stopped short of dedicating the match to her beforehand — he wanted it to be just like any other match.
He could try, but that wasn’t going to happen.
Browne’s victory over No. 1 seeded Raymond Jordan of Missouri was anything but regular.
The senior from Plattsmouth, Neb., took five days off after his mother passed on Feb. 20. He said he was worried about being able to get back into condition in time for the conference championships.
Training on his own and then working back into a regular routine, Browne made his comeback.
NU head coach Mark Manning said the night was an unbelievable experience, and the team rallied around Browne in the days leading to the championship.
“When he came back, he had a great mindset,” Manning said. “He was just normal Brandon. It just shows the unity and how tight our team is.
“He’s back to normal, and that happened because we’ve got a lot of quality people around Brandon as far as teammates and stuff to help him through that, and he feels that love for them.”
After hugging his younger brother, the two knelt. A few feet from the concessions stands, the brothers radiated emotion amidst fans, event personnel and coaches.
“I have a very, very strong family. We stick together,” Browne said. “I had so much support. Without it, I don’t know what I would do. Mainly, my mom — she’d hate me if I just gave up. So, I’m just doing what I do best.”
Then, after a moment with his brother, Browne found his father standing right behind him.
“It’s the hardest on him,” Browne said of his father. “It’s the first wrestling meet he’s gone to without her since I was tiny.”
His emotional victory sparked Husker runs that claimed three consecutive individual championships at 174, 184 and 197 pounds, ultimately allowing Nebraska to claim a share of its first Big 12 Championship.
“It was unreal, I mean unreal.” Browne said. “My last match here as a senior, I couldn’t ask for more. It’s just unbelievable.”
“She’d be proud of me — she’s always been proud.”
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