Cambria Co., PA (WJAC) — A local high school wrestler took a step up in competition this past weekend and it paid off.
While Sunday was not the first time Jax Forrest wrestled in a college open and did well, it was different.
With the stakes higher than ever and the highest ranked D1 wrestler across from him, Forrest brought his best.
On Sunday afternoon, Jax Forrest did what would sound like an irrational goal for most, but for him, it meets his expectations.
"I’m someone who, whether it's a good thing or bad thing, depending on how you look at it, I’m always unsatisfied. I want to keep getting better and keep doing better,” Forrest said.
Forrest beat Lehigh’s Luke Stanich, who on some ranking systems was the highest ranked D1 wrestler in the nation at 125 pounds.
While considered an upset by many, his father and coach do not see it that way.
"I’m not necessarily surprised. I mean, Jax is somebody that has really big goals and ambitions and trains a lot and believes in them. I think the main thing is he believes in himself. He goes into a tournament like that thinking he's the best guy and thinking he can win. It doesn't matter really who's there,” his father said.
Forrest initially had no plans to wrestle this past weekend, but his mom made him aware of the opportunity to dethrone one of the nation's best.
"My mom saw on Twitter somewhere that the number one/number two, depending on where you looked, ranked guy was going to be there. And I was thinking, ‘oh my gosh, this is the opportunity.’ We didn't have any tournaments going on this weekend. So, I saw it as a sign from God almost that I was supposed to go here and wrestle and just had this awesome opportunity to go and wrestle."
Forrest added that with district duals on Tuesday, and the road to a state championship starting, this is a huge morale boost for him.
Forrest also said that since he knows he can beat the best college wrestlers, when it comes to high school wrestling, he's able to focus less on winning or losing and give more attention to getting better.
ncG1vNJzZmilXqy3oq%2FTr2Wcp51kwLG70a2qaJufo8GmutNomaKrmKS9brnCnKarrF2sv6a%2F06Wgp59dnbaotIysmqGnn6F6pLvLpZygnV2Wwam4xK2gnKtdmbKnscCtZKyon6fBtHnRmqWkoZ6cwG6zzpqjrGWZor2zu9WepJ6mpA%3D%3D