EDMONDS
Jared Mead is turning some heads in his rookie season with the Jackson wrestling team.
The Wolfpack sophomore, who had never wrestled prior to this season, claimed the first tournament title of his budding career, winning the 103-pound division at the 32nd annual Edmonds District Invitational Jan. 6 at Edmonds-Woodway High School.
Mead (13-2 overall) had advanced to the finals in two previous tournaments but finished second both times. Mead scored a 14-7 decision in a championship bout that was stopped repeatedly for blood time as Lynnwood’s Anthony Henderson bled from his nose.
“It feels good. It feels really good,” Mead said of his first tournament title. “This is the first year I’ve ever wrestled. … I wasn’t really sure about it. My friends talked me into it this year.”
Mead, who had a first-round bye, defeated Mountlake Terrace’s Eric Quinteiro 12-2 in the semifinals.
The success Mead has experienced in his first season is quite unusual, Jackson head coach Gus Anaya said.
“It’s pretty amazing to see a kid like that,” Anaya said. “He’s got a lot of natural talent and he’s still learning and improving as the season progresses.”
Football was Mead’s sport of choice prior to taking up wrestling. Mead, however, gave up the sport when he started at Jackson because he didn’t think he was big enough.
“I decided to do a sport where my size really wouldn’t be a factor,” Mead said. “I’ve always been pretty strong for my size.”
Initially, Mead saw wrestling as a way to keep in shape. But that’s no longer the case.
“It’s turning out that this is a really good sport,” he said. “I like it.”
As for the rest of the season, Mead plans to just enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.
“I’m excited to see where I end up,” he said. “I’ve never done this before. I’m excited to even have a winning record. I went into here hoping to go 50/50 with my record. This is really a big surprise to me.”
Mead’s strength from his football background is one of his best assets, Anaya said.
“For a kid at that weight, he’s really strong,” Anaya said. “He’s got great balance, that natural instinct and he always tries to get in good position. His strength is definitely a factor.”
The future is bright for Mead.
“I’m hoping he sticks with it,” Anaya said. “I look for him to do well in the next three years.”
Also advancing to the finals was Jackson’s Kelly Kapalo, who ended up losing 9-8 to Granite Falls’ Andrew McKibben in the heavyweight (285) finals.
Kapalo (10-4) also had a first-round bye and then pinned Lynnwood’s Ryan Crow at the 3:36 mark in the semifinals.
This is Kapalo’s second year of wrestling but the first season where he’s actually been on the mat on a regular basis. Kapalo struggled with injuries last year.
“Last week he got his first medal. This week he followed it with a second-place finish that came down to the wire,” Anaya said.
Jackson finished sixth overall in the eight-team tournament with 112.5 points.
Woodinville (200) captured first place and was followed by Franklin Pierce (188), Edmonds-Woodway (137), Mountlake Terrace (126.5) and Lynnwood (123).
Other top Jackson finishers included Mason Mazza (third, 140), Thomas Hall (fourth, 119), Anthony Mortera (fourth, 130), Connor Martin (fifth, 125), Myles Bittinger (fifth, 171), Nick Hudson (fifth, 215), Tara Miller (sixth, 103), Michael Brenan (sixth, 145) and Devin Werner (sixth, 152).
Edmonds-Woodway’s Mathew Toma (135) was named the tournament’s 103- to 140-pound most valuable player and Meadowdale’s Wes Cramer (215) was named co-MVP with Granite Falls’ Andrew McKibben (285) in the 145-285 weight classes.
Mountlake Terrace senior Jon Floresca, who finished second in the 119 division, was the recipient of the Mike Hess Sportsmanship Award.
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