SULTAN — Jamell Carroll II already had more than enough motivation to win a state wrestling championship.
But after one fateful November day, Carroll II is no longer on a quest to win state merely for himself. He’s also doing it for his father.
When the Sultan High School junior takes the mat at the 1A regional tournament Saturday at Klahowya Secondary School in Silverdale, he’ll be competing for both himself and his father, after the two of them were involved in a serious car accident just over two months earlier.
“I didn’t think my dad was going to make it through it, because he got hurt the worst,” Carroll II said. “But since he’s back I feel like I have something more to wrestle for now.”
Carroll II is one of Snohomish County’s best bets at claiming a state title at Mat Classic on Feb. 19-20. Last year, wrestling at 132 pounds, he lost only once all season, that being a 2-1 decision in the state semifinals. He came back to take third place with a pin. This season, competing at 145 pounds, he is a perfect 22-0 with a first-place finish in last Saturday’s 1A sub-regional tournament. The Washington Wrestling Report ranks Carroll II No. 1 in the 1A state rankings at 145.
But this season came oh so close to not happening for Carroll II.
The day after Thanksgiving, Carroll II and his father, Jamell Carroll Sr., who’s an assistant coach for the Sultan wrestling team, were driving on Highway 2 en route to the Turks’ practice. They never made it as they were involved in a head-on collision on the notoriously dangerous road.
Carroll II was able to escape the crash with just minor injuries that caused him to miss the first month of the season.
However, Carroll Sr. was not so lucky. He sustained multiple serious injuries, including a broken hip, broken femur, dislocated ankle and internal bleeding. He was in the hospital for an extended period and was limited to a wheelchair for more than two months, only able to discard the wheelchair in favor of crutches on Feb. 1.
But while he was laid up in the hospital, Carroll Sr. was consoled by his son’s words.
“He said he wanted to wrestle for his dad,” an emotional Carroll Sr. said while choking back tears. “For any father, that’s big. That’s big. He said because I couldn’t walk, he wanted to walk for me. He said because I couldn’t run, he wanted to run for me. He said because I couldn’t wrestle, he wanted to wrestle for me. Those were his words. I just felt like what an amazing son. It wasn’t even about wrestling at that point, I was like, ‘Man I’ve got a good son, I have an amazing son, I feel blessed to have him.’”
“It was pretty hard because I knew that he was always there for me, and I didn’t know if it was going to stop,” Carroll II said about that moment. “But I’m just happy that he’s here for me now, because he’s always been here for me since I first started wrestling.”
If anyone can win a title for his father, it’s Carroll II. He is a physical specimen who has a wealth of wrestling background. His dad, who wrestled during his time in the Marines, got him started at the tender age of 6. Carroll II continued his education with the USA Everett Wrestling Club, where he honed his skills against some of the best wrestlers the region has to offer, including Lake Stevens standouts Michael Soler and Jake Douglas.
The accident caused Carroll II to get a late start this season, as he wasn’t cleared to return to practice until the end of December. But Carroll II wasted little time getting back up to speed. He was back in action at the Bremerton Holiday Tournament, were he not only won the 145-pound title, he was also named the tournament’s most valuable wrestler.
“He’s always been a great wrestler, but his work ethic is second to none,” Sultan head coach Garth MacDicken said. “He works extremely hard, wrestles extremely hard. He works out every day besides practice, lifts weights. He does everything a wrestler need to do to really compete high at a state level.
“For him coming back from that bad of a head-on car accident, coming back to where he is and still being such a dominant wrestler, I think is a great story,” MacDicken added. “I think it’s just motivating him all the more so to put himself on the top of the podium.”
And should Carroll find himself atop that podium at Mat Classic, his dad will be right there beside him in spirit.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
