New role, same goal for Waynesburg’s Evans
Dave Miller, ADM Photography
Waynesburg University’s Jake Evans has a 35-1 record so far this season.
Dave Miller, ADM Photography
Waynesburg University’s Jake Evans has 20 pins this season.
Dave Miller, ADM Photography
Waynesburg University’s Jake Evans is ranked the No. 1 heavyweight in NCAA Division III by Intermat.
Waynesburg University heavyweight wrestler Jake Evans looks for back-to-back NCAA Division III titles this weekend.
Courtesy John Yates
Jake Evans
Jake Evans might not have been aware of it at first, but his role on Waynesburg University’s wrestling team has changed.
The senior heavyweight has gone from the hunter to the hunted on the wrestling mat.
That situation arose from an outstanding accomplishment last season, when Evans decisioned James Bethel of Oneonta State University in New York, 10-5, in the heavyweight finals at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium.
Suddenly, the goal he had set before the season, the hunt he set out on, was complete. He had become the first NCAA Division III wrestling champion in the program’s history. The gold medal hung around his neck, the top of the medals stand was reserved for him, and the large crowd in the auditorium was cheering his accomplishment.
Nothing like this had ever happened to him while he wrestled at Elizabeth Forward High School.
The hunt was over, a complete success, but like all great accomplishments in sport, there was a caveat. Evans now had to defend the title he worked so hard to get. Evans won the national title as a junior, so this season, he is the target of every opponent. He carries the bull’s-eye on his back. Beat him and you have slayed a national champion, a notch on the resume belt every wrestler would cherish.
This season, Evans has a 35-1 record, the only loss coming to Demetrius Thomas of Pitt, 14-4, at the season-opening Clarion Open. Thomas, an offseason transfer for the Panthers, is a former NAIA champion and two-time NAIA finalist. He is ranked 18th in Division I.
So, better to be the hunter or the hunted?
“I don’t know. That’s a good question,” said the soft-spoken Evans. “There is more pressure but it’s a lot more fun. I guess I’m more intimidating now. It’s definitely more challenging being the hunted. I have to make sure I’m on my game.”
Evans isn’t the only one who was forced to look at this season in a different way. Head coach Ron Headlee went from coaching an overwhelming talent reaching his goal to coaching an overwhelming talent hoping to repeat the feat.
“I would say it’s easier to chase,” Headlee said. “I like being the chaser. You know that everyone out there knows you’re a national champ and they’re going to wrestle their best to get to you. It’s always a little harder (to defend). I’ve seen some guys who have had a little success back it down a little bit but Jake has definitely went the other way. He’s worked a lot harder. He knows he has to work hard to get it back again.”
Evans carries an added burden: age. At 29, he is older than nearly every college wrestler. He took a break after high school and started college later than most. While he has maturity on his side, his body also is older and more likely to succumb to injury.
“There are not too many heavyweights who work like him or train like him,” said Headlee. “He puts an extra hour in each day and gets better that way. You see a lot of wrestlers who can do it. But at heavyweight, training his body, especially at 29-years-old, it’s a little bit harder.”
Evans has 20 pins this season, five away from last season’s total of 25 in a season when he went 50-3.
“I wanted to be more physical, like in hand fighting, and create more angles with my shots,” Evans said. “I do look at the rankings but more for fun. I like to look at stats.”
Evans is No. 1 in the Intermat rankings for Division III wrestlers and Bethel, the victim in last year’s final, is second. The two could meet again in the Division III championships March 8-9 in the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Va.
“I think I can repeat. I think it will be just as difficult as last year,” said Evans. “Everyone else is getting a better look. They are watching tape of me. They want to beat me.”