Jackson’s Mead advances to state

A year ago, Jackson’s Jared Mead qualified for the 4A Region 1 wrestling tournament but was unable to compete because he was sick.

This year a healthy Mead earned his first trip to the Class 4A state tournament with a fourth place finish in the 119-pound division at the Region 1 tournament Feb. 9 at Skyview High School in Vancouver, Wash.

“He had a really good tournament,” said Jackson coach Gustavo Anaya. “He definitely ended up where I thought he should be.”

The Jackson junior, who has only been wrestling since his sophomore year, improved his overall record to 28-8 with 15 pins.

Mead won his first match by a pin, then lost in the quarterfinals before picking up a victory in the consolation bracket to advance to the third-fourth place match, which he dropped 4-1.

“They were close matches,” Anaya said.

Since this will be his first appearance in the Tacoma Dome, Anaya wants to get Mead acclimated to the spectacle of Mat Classic.

“The biggest thing is to take him down to the Tacoma Dome, so he’s comfortable with the facility,” Anaya said. “A lot of kids come down for the first time and they are overwhelmed with the atmosphere. The goal is to get him ready for that too.”

Mead has a tough first round match on Feb. 15 with Kentwood’s Brandon Rodgers, who won a state title at 112 in 2007.

“His weight class is pretty stacked, so he’s going to have some tough competition,” Anaya said. “His first match is against a returning state champion. It’ll definitely be a good test to see where he’s at, at the very beginning.”

Joining Mead is sophomore Timothy St. Marie, an alternate at heavyweight. Mead is only the ninth Jackson wrestler to advance to the state tournament.

Anaya noted that Mead is on track to win the team’s Ironman award, signifying that he has never missed a single practice or tournament.

“That shows the kind of level of commitment to the program and the sport,” Anaya said.

Based on the results at regionals, Mead has a good shot at coming home with a medal.

“Our goal is to leave the Tacoma Dome with a state placement,” Anaya said. “This week we’re just making some corrections that we need to make at the regional tournament. Hopefully, that will be enough to get into the medal round.”