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Head
Coach
Rob Martin
romartin@crschools.us
Athletic
Director
Chris Deam
cdeam@crschools.us
parent/student
e-mail dist. list form
We
hope this will make things easier when sending out forms and
other important info via email to all our parents and wrestlers. |
"The Night The Names On The Wall Came To Life!
2010 State Finalist Reunion
For those of you who were unable to attend we have posted a pdf version of the finalist program for you to download.
PLEASE CLICK HERE |
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Year
by Year
A Condensed Look at the First Fifty plus years
of
J-Hawk Wrestling...
2004 Team depth and unity were listed in the “thumbs-up”
section of the banquet booklet as reasons for the
first varsity winning-season in seven years. Finishing
five and four the J-Hawks scored an average of thirty-seven
points in the nine dual meets. Three of the four
losses were to top ten finishing teams (3A runner-up
Iowa City West, third place Kennedy, and tenth place
City High). The highlight of the dual season was
a Mike Kane concept dubbed “throwback night”
which inspired the team during a nail biting win
over Xavier. The meet was held in the old gym and
the varsity donned 1970’s era Columbia blue
tights and white singlets found in storage deep
within the bowels of the lower locker room. On that
same evening another Dick Briggs innovation was
unveiled, the “Mark Ironside Award”.
Its presentation would go to the Jefferson wrestler
who best attempted to personify Mark’s off-season
wrestling excellence. Ironside himself presented
the award to junior Tony Olson who earned the initial
honor. At the district meet only two J-Hawks started
the day seeded high enough to advance to state.
When the dust had cleared four athletes qualified
for the trip to Des Moines. In the van headed west
on Interstate 80 were senior Caleb Moses-189, juniors
Tony Olson-103 and Denny Vorba-140, along with sophomore
Blaine Beatty who would bring home Jefferson’s
first-ever eighth place finish. Beatty joined Mel
Wieland and Mark Ironside in becoming only the third
J-Hawk to earn a state medal as a sophomore. Six
varsity wrestlers finished with more than twenty
wins on the season. Once again the season end roster
showed forty-seven grapplers in attendance for the
banquet, including fifteen frosh. Closer inspection
revealed only one other team in 3A (City High) with
greater team numbers. |
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2005 For the first time in many years there was serious
talk amongst Jeff wrestlers of contention for a
district crown thereby ensuring J-Hawk representation
at the state dual tournament (now held annually
at the US Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids).
The competition could be stiff given the recent
success of strong metro rivals Kennedy, Prairie,
and |
Linn
Mar. However nine returning lettermen brimmed with
confidence and provided the nucleus for possible
success.
What no one could possibly know was that the IHSAA
would stun metro-area teams by splitting them up
into three separate regions. The district alignment
everyone had predicted, and come to expect, did
not transpire. The J-Hawks were inexplicably sent
to icy Young Arena in Waterloo where several of
the strongest teams in the state (including 2005
state champion Waverly-Shell Rock) jockeyed for
position hoping to qualify as large a contingent
as possible. Coach Briggs would later reflect, “It
was the toughest district in the state. We knew
it, we had plenty of time to prepare for it, but
when it came down to crunch time, the J-Hawks were
nowhere to be found.” Three returning state
qualifiers (one a medallist and two ‘two-timers’)
could not finish in the top two at their weight.
For the first time in the proud forty-eight year
history of Jefferson High not one representative
made the trip to Des Moines for the final state
tournament to be held in Veterans Auditorium. Briggs
also lamented, “The frustrating part was this
group was such a great bunch of guys, you just wanted
the best for them. They were so close to being a
great team.” As Briggs has said many times,
“Its too bad that a team’s success is
measured by what is done in the last two weeks of
the season.” But the fact is, that is just
wrestling. There were many fun and exciting times
with the 2005 team. They did manage to tie for second
place in the Mississippi division of the MVC with
a dual record of five and three. This included lopsided
wins over Senior, Washington, and Xavier. It also
included a 74-0 spanking of East Waterloo and an
electrifying come-from-behind win at Dubuque Hempstead
after which the Jefferson faithful in the stands
exploded onto the floor to congratulate the team
following the final match. The J-Hawks crowned ten
individual tournament champions, including the first
Ames champ in five years. They also won the Ottumwa
Invitational. Six varsity wrestlers garnered over
twenty wins on the season, including Josh Burhite-145
and Denny Vorba-140 who finished with 101 and 100
career wins respectively. Vorba did something that
had never been done before by becoming the first
Jefferson wrestler to never miss (or be late for)
a practice in any of his four seasons. Blaine Beatty
set a school mark by recording a five second fall
in the Kennedy dual. Most in attendance that night
will attest if the official had been in position,
and a bit more agile, it should have been quicker!
The second Ironside Award recipient was senior Anthony
Moody. Again, come banquet-time the final team roster
ended with numbers in the mid-forties. |
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2006 Goodbye-Veterans Auditorium. Hello-Wells Fargo Arena.
Out with the old- in with the new. Time to “clean-out-the-Barn.”
After extreme disappointment at the end of the 2005
season the prospect of starting anew by “flushing”
the past was a welcome notion. At some point everyone
needs a fresh start, new surroundings and a second
chance. |
The
coaching staff formulated a plan to modify practice and
improve action from the feet. There were new Columbia blue
championship singlets to be worn. Many wrestlers took advantage
of the added training and competition multiple-sport participation
offers. For some, gains in strength were starting to show,
evidence of quality time spent in the weight room. Key leaders
with positive attitudes produced followers with the same.
Consistency up and down the varsity line-up bespoke cohesiveness,
a trait exhibited on successful teams. The byproduct? A
first place finish in the MVC Mississippi division, the
first since 1995. A dual record of seven and two. Ten place
winners at the MVC Super-Meet produced the first upper division
finish since 1997. Twenty tournament finalists and ten crowned
champions. Which brings us back to the new Wells Fargo Arena.
Senior captains Blaine Beatty-135 and Grant Edwards-215
would not be denied the initial trip. Each had what it took
to earn invitations to the coming-out-party inside the shiny
new Des Monies venue. At the district tournament Edwards
avenged two previous losses to Luke Dolan of Kennedy in
the wrestle-back match to punch his ticket. Beatty dominated
completely, just itching to make amends for failing to qualify
last year (after qualifying freshman year and medalling
as a sophomore). Once in the new arena, Beatty cruised to
the semifinals before yielding to Kody Pudil of team champion
Iowa City West. A strong finish in the medal round Saturday
morning saw him finish his career with a fourth place medal
around his neck. Edwards stayed alive in the consolation
wrestle-backs before elimination one match shy of the medal
round. When the dust settled Beatty laid claim to several
firsts: First Jefferson freshman to qualify for state. First
Jeff wrestler to make both All Metro and All MVC teams four
years straight. First J-Hawk to stand on both award stands
(Vets and Wells Fargo). First J-Hawk to be voted team Most
Valuable Wrestler three times. He was only the eighth Jeff
wrestler to qualify three times, and just the seventh two-time
medallist coached by Dick Briggs. Seven varsity wrestlers
ended the season with more than twenty victories, including
freshman Jason McCormick (22) who surpassed Beatty’s
(20) varsity win record when he was a freshman four years
earlier. Ironside Award co-winners were juniors Weston Marling
and Adam Thompson. The team roster continued to swell as
fifty-one proud J-Hawks finished the season, including twenty-one
freshmen. In summing up the season Coach Briggs remarked,
“Individual and team improvement were impressive and
I hope something for the younger guys to build on in coming
years.
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Our very own Mark Ironside,
Two-Time State Champion
has been inducted to the
Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame
Class of 2010. Read the article and more information on the 2010 induction ceremony!
cick here to visit website |
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