Jackson sweeps wrestling tri-meet in dominant fashion

Graidy Rice knows all about the relentless grind of the high school wrestling season.

“Right now, everyone's feeling good and amazing,” the Jackson wrestling 126-pounder said, “but as the year goes on, you sometimes see people break left and right. That's where you really see the people that are committed stand out, and they'll go and do better than ever.”

While time will tell, Rice and his teammates certainly do look better than ever.

The junior's two bonus-point victories were one of the many bright spots for the Indians, who came away with dominant wins over Cape Central and Anna-Jonesboro (AR) in their tri-meet on Wednesday night at Jackson High School.

Jackson (2-0) opened up its dual meet season with a 76-6 win over the out-of-state Wildcats (1-1) before pounding the Tigers by the same score — a sneak peak of what’s in store for 43rd-year head coach Steve Wachter’s program this winter.

“Our effort was really outstanding,” Wachter said. “We had great effort. We were real aggressive tonight. So, we wrestled with a lot of confidence, which is what we've been talking about. We've worked pretty hard, and the harder you work, the more confident you'll be.”

Wachter and his staff simply couldn’t have asked for a better start, as the Indians got dominant performances up and down the lineup in both dual meets. In fact, Jackson did not drop a single contested bout despite forfeiting at 106.

“They stuck by their plans real good,” Wachter said. “Their offensive attacks were sharp and defensively they did things that we've been doing in the room. And so, you're always pretty proud as a coach whenever your plans are being carried out and you're executing the things that you do in the room.”

It was hard to single out Indians because so many different wrestlers delivered in key spots, but Rice showed that he’s in the mix with the best 126 pounders in the state.

In the Jackson win over Anna-Jonesboro, the Indians led 12-6 through three bouts before earning bonus-point victories the rest of the way, starting with Rice’s takedown clinic at 126. In that match, he defeated two-time Arkansas state place winner Drew Sadler by injury default in the premier match of the dual.

Late in the first period, Rice hit a slick low single-leg after a slide-by attempt at the edge of the circle and collected the three points with 20 seconds to go in the frame. From there, Rice continued to own the match on his feet and poured it on the Wildcat, racking up two more takedowns before Sadler exited the match with an injury in the final period.

After bumping up from 113 to 120 this season, Rice said he is physically and, most importantly, mentally stronger than ever.

“I’m going to be 120 this year, but for this dual I wanted to wrestle 126 against Drew Sadler,” said Rice, a returning Class 4 state qualifier. “He's a pretty good wrestler. He beat one of my friends last year, so I wanted to get back against him. I feel great, feel amazing. I can't wait for us to wrestle Farmington. Energy is better than ever, stronger than ever and I’m just more nutritional.”

Rice’s ultimate goal this season: a state championship.

“Top-three in the state, but I'm hunting for that state title either this year or next year,” he said.

Against Cape Central, the Indians earned bonus-point victories — eight pins and two tech falls — in each contested bout to roll to a 76-6 drubbing. The highlight of the match came at 113 pounds when Jackson freshman Kael Davis came back from down 6-2 against Cape Central’s Brayden Coonts and picked up a huge pin at the 1:22 mark to send his home gymnasium into a frenzy, capping off the night in emphatic fashion.

Jackson returns to the mat this Saturday, Dec. 14, for the Farmington Scramble Tournament, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Jackson wrestlers make Senior Night a special one

Sometimes “Senior Night” isn't much fun for several of the honorees. They are recognized beforehand, often get to give their mother a rose and then they sit on the bench and don’t get to step on the mat. That was not the case at Jackson on Wednesday during the Indians’ Senior Night.

Three — all but one — Jackson seniors strapped on the headgear in the tri-meet, and were utterly dominant after doing so. Jacob Milam (144) earned a forfeit and a tech fall, while Matthew May (165) and John McIntyre (175) both picked up a pair of first-period pins. Peyton Lincoln is the other Indian senior and was recognized before the match with his parents.

Wachter was pleased with his seniors’ performances, but was most pleased by their feel for the bigger picture.

“I only have four, which, out of a school like this, is a little bit disappointing that you don't have more out,” Wachter said. “But it's a tough sport for tough kids, and I have to hand it to those four. They've stuck with it for four years with me, so I'm really proud of that. And they all wrestled really well tonight.”

Season Outlook

Jackson’s performance on Wednesday produced the kind of result Wachter would like to have his wrestlers get more often.

Rice, Kade King (132) and Joah Moore (190) are all fresh off Francis Howell North Tournament titles this past weekend, while Milam and Jordan Sostillio (215) both earned silver. Returning state qualifier and 113-pounder Kamden Gerhardt ran into a buzzsaw and finished 2-2 at the tournament. Jackson finished second in its pool, only trailing 2024 Class 4 state runner-up Lafayette.

That’s not even mentioning heavyweight and returning state qualifier Brysen Wessell, who bumped up from 215 this season.

Even after losing 2024 state medalist Landon Vassalli and two other state qualifiers, Jackson returns four other wrestlers who have reached the state tournament — five or six of whom Wachter believes have a shot of reaching the podium come March.

“When you're Class 4, you could really be tremendous and not make it to the podium,” Wachter said. “I think there's five or six that have the possibility and the ability to get to the podium and place pretty high. But our district is rugged. There's four or five All-Americans sitting in our district at weight classes, and the teams in our district are outstanding. Then, across the state there’s some really good schools. So, it'll be interesting, but we have a chance to have somewhere in the neighborhood of one or two all the way up to five or six.”