Young Wrestler Shows Promise

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Logan Connor, Reporter

Freshman wrestler Jordan Jewell has had tremendous success early in his high school career. With a record of 23-11, Jewell has one of the best records on the team.

Jewell carried the success he earned in middle school to the high school team.

“Back in middle school, I placed 4th in the state during my 8th grade year,” Jewell said. “I also won the county championship and placed 2nd in the conference tournament.”

Most young athletes struggle transitioning into high school athletics. The speed and intensity of wrestling at the high school level is much higher than that at middle school, Jewell found the transition fairly seamless.

“It has been a pretty big transition for me,” Jewell said. “I had to change up my whole style of wrestling and be more aggressive. Adjusting to the speed and strength of the older, more experienced wrestlers hasn’t been much of a challenge, though.”

Years of hard work and dedication to the sport has paid off. Between being part of the Greenwood Wrestling Club, the middle school and now high school team, Jewell has developed into one of Greenwood’s best wrestlers.

“I’ve been a part of the program for 10 years,” Jewell said. “It has definitely been a developmental process for me, but through all the extra work, I’ve improved a lot over the years.”

Jewell has relied on his relentless style and acting on his opponents’ mistakes to win his matches.

“My favorite move is probably the fireman’s carry,” Jewell said. “I love that move, but I typically do not go looking for moves. I like to take whatever opportunity that opens up in matches.”

Being the practice partner to one of the best wrestlers on the team is a challenge itself. But wrestling with Jewell every day at practice has helped sophomore Chase Gray.

“Working with him at practice is definitely challenging,” Gray said. “He is so talented and really pushes me at practice. He’s always been a good wrestler but he has really advanced this season.”

Jewell has earned high praise from the coaching staff and has earned “Wrestler of the Meet” three times so far this season. 

“We started giving out the Wrestler of the Meet award this season,” Coach Jay Yates said. “As coaches, we started it to recognize a wrestler who wins a big match for the team or wrestles well against a tough opponent. For example, the most recent time we gave it to Jordan he went 5-0 in a tournament and wrestled really well against some good opponents.”

Jewell has been working hard in the practice room to achieve success on the mat in real matches.

“His work ethic is almost unmatched,” Coach Yates said. “He has been working his butt off at practice, and it has shown on the mat.”

Jewell placed 6th at the Holiday Classic tournament hosted annually by Mooresville. Known for being a difficult tournament, it is rare to see a freshman place so high.

“The holiday tournament was definitely a crazy tournament,” Jewell said. “I learned a lot but I definitely could’ve done better. I learned a lot and have been working hard to place higher next year.”

Only the top four wrestlers at every weight make it past the Sectional stage. Jewell is currently 6th in his weight class and is looking to move up into the Top 4 to be the first Woodman wrestler since Anthony Walker to wrestle at the Regional tournament.

“He has been working really hard and has a great record at 23-11,” Coach Yates said. “Only the top four get to move on and with Jordan being 6th it really shows how tough his weight class is.”

Jewell leads the team in wins and pins this season. Along with placing 6th at the Holiday classic, he was 5-0 at the Jennings County Super Duals, 5-0 at the Decatur Central duals and placed 4th in the Johnson County tournament earlier this season.