Two of the top promising freshmen have their fathers doubling as their coaches.
Graham phenom Bo Jordan is the third in the second-generation line of four-time state champion brothers, Jim and Jeff Jordan. This time, Bo comes from father Jeff’s side of the family.
His debut has been just as smashing, as he takes a 20-1 record into his match Saturday, Jan. 23, with Lakewood St. Edward senior Jamie Clark, the top-rated wrestler in the country at 130 pounds.
“He’s had a good year,” said Jeff Jordan of Bo. “He was unbeaten until he ran into Nate Skonieczny of Walsh and he beat Bo in overtime.”
Skonieczny was a state runner-up to Graham’s since-graduated Zach Neibert last season.
“I’m not going to say I’m glad my son lost,” said Jeff Jordan. “I am glad he’s got a loss on that record, though. I actually want all my guys to lose, just not at the state tournament.”
Huh?
“So they will listen to their coach or dad, or whoever it is,” he said of his reasoning. “They work harder for me then. It keeps them humble and keeps them in check.”
Another standout is Northwestern’s Chase Crabtree, currently 21-4 at 103. His dad, Jacob, is the Warriors’ rookie head coach. Thing is, Chase isn’t Northwestern’s only top freshman. Brandon Rogers is 18-4 at 160, and Ben Franzen is 18-9 at 140.
“It’s really encouraging to have young talent like that,” said Jacob Crabtree. “For them to come together and gel as a team, they’ve nearly surpassed my expectations for this year.”
Another Warriors freshman, Sam Oakes, was also a junior high state qualifier last year. But he has had to break in at 189.
“When you come in at 189, you come into a man’s weight class,” said Crabtree.
Mechanicsburg has a freshman phenom as well in 152-pounder Max Erwin, who is 21-1. When asked if he’s ever had a freshman as polished as Erwin, veteran Indians coach Brady Hiatt answered, “My closest as far as success-wise early in his career was (two-time state qualifier Cody) Rodgers a couple years ago.”
Two years ago Erwin was fifth at the junior high state tourney, and then handily beat last year’s state champion as an eighth-grader.
“It’s going to be exciting to see if he can continue to grow over the four years, which is my job,” said Hiatt. “He’s definitely got a bright future.”
So, it seems, do all of the above.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0364 or krowe@coxohio.com.
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