Brooks hopes to pin state title to wrestling resumé
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Anthony Gadson-agadson@timesuniononline.com
It’s a story that’s been written before, but this time, Warsaw Community High School senior Jarred Brooks is looking for a different ending. When Brooks takes his wrestling talents to the opening round of 74th annual IHSAA state finals Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with the winners advancing to Saturday’s competition, it will be the sixth-straight year the Brooks name has appeared in the bracket. Along with his third-straight trip to Indianapolis, Jarred’s older brother, Justin, appeared in the state finals between 2006 and 2009. And while the boys have done well, finishing in the top five each time at the finals, a state title has eluded the family “There’s always that Brooks curse, saying we’ve always been in the top two (seeds) but haven’t been able to win the state championship,” Jarred said prior to Wednesday’s practice. “Hopefully, I can just wrestle the way I have been wrestling, and have God on my side, family on my side and everybody on my side. It just comes down to execution.” Entering the season as the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at 113 pounds, a state title has been expected out of him this season, especially after finishing second last season. “He’s developed tremendously, even just this year from last,” Warsaw wrestling coach Justin Smith said about Brooks, who takes a 31-0 record into Friday's competition. “He did a lot of wrestling in the offseason, going to the Super 32 (tournament), going to the Fargo tournament and doing a lot of freestyle wrestling. I’ve really noticed that he has more of an attacking style in neutral position. He has a lot of takedowns this year. Even with the matches he missed, he’s leading the team in takedowns.” It was during those tournaments that Brooks built his national ranking, when he finished second to Ohio’s Nathan Tomasello at July’s USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., but then defeated him at the Super 32 in Greensboro, N.C in October. And it was also during those competitions that Brooks was able to put the IHSAA tournament in a better perspective. “I’ve always thought of the state championships and semistate championships as such a big deal,” he said. “What I realized was, it’s just another tournament. I’ve been wrestling in it for the past three years, and now, I’m realizing it’s another tournament. I just don’t see how it can be as big of a tournament as the Super 32 or any type of national tournament I’ve wrestled in. Offseason is when it counts, when you think about it. It’s just execution now. I’ve beaten the best of the best. Now, it’s time for me to show who’s the best of the best.” During his four years at Warsaw, Brooks has amassed a record of 135-6, with three of those losses coming at state. After finishing sixth at the Merrillville Semistate as a freshman, he came back to make the state finals as sophomore, finishing fifth at 103 pounds, then came back as a 112-pound junior and losing a 3-0 decision to Pendleton Heights’ Mason Todd in the championship bout. “I had a good year last year, I just got out-physiqued (at the state finals),” Brooks said. “I just don’t see anyone doing that this year. I’m bigger, stronger and 10 times more technical than what I was last year.” Along with getting college wrestling tips from Justin, who wrestled at Indiana University, Brooks has also been training in martial arts, which he feels will give him an edge on the mat. “Wrestling-based jiu-jitsu, I think that’s the future of wrestling,” Brooks said. “It’s not just me that’s doing it, it’s a lot of college wrestlers that are doing a lot of jiu-jitsu. (Oklahoma State’s) Jordan Oliver, who’s ranked No. 1 at 133, is one of my favorite wrestlers. I want to resemble him a little bit and be like him. He’s a really good wrestler. He’s really tough and really fast. That’s what I’d like to resemble in the near future.” To this point, Brooks hasn’t really needed to dig too deep into his martial arts’ repertoire, but against tougher competition, he may have to implement some moves he’s been working on. “If I’m ever in a bad situation, and someone gets me into a scramble, I’ll be showing my jiu-jitsu, which I learned from Robbie Nieto, Dennis Minix and my father (Robert Ford),” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff I’d like to showcase, but if the opportunity doesn’t present itself, it doesn’t.” And to this point the opportunity hasn’t presented itself. In his 10 postseason matches this year, three at sectionals, three at regionals and four at the semistate, Brooks has posted nine pins and one technical fall, which occurs when a wrestler gets a 15-point lead before the three two-minute rounds expire. “All of his wins have been either a fall or tech fall (this year),” Smith said. “That speaks to how much he’s improved. The thing I love about Jarred is, he doesn’t care who he wrestles. He’s going to go out and he’s confident he’s going to wrestle well, and he’s pretty confident he’s going to beat you. I love that confidence about him. I wish some of my other wrestlers had it. That’s one of the big reasons he’s where he is — ranked No.1 and undefeated. It’s because he has that confidence and the skill to back it up.” That confidence also makes Brooks hold himself to a higher standard, meaning tech falls bug him a little bit. “I don’t see just myself completely winning the match,” Brooks said. “I want to see myself dominating the match. If I beat a kid by a major (decision), you better know I’m going to be very mad at myself. Tech falls, you’ll have those sometimes, but at the high school level — I’m not trying to sound cocky — but I’m above that now. I just need to go down (to state) and show my skills and show what I’ve been working so hard for the past four years.” But with the skill of Brooks, sometimes the points rack up so fast that the match is called before he can get the pin. “He’s so fluid on his feet, that sometimes, he may lose track of the score,” Smith said. “Sometimes I lose track of the score, and before you know it, you’re in a situation where you have to take the (opponent) feet to back in order to not tech fall him.” At state, where he’ll face New Palestine junior Taylor Fee in Friday’s opening round, Brooks won’t mind how he gets the wins, just as long as he gets them. “My goal is to pin or tech everyone,” he said. “I want to dominate. I want to show everybody that the Jarred Brooks from last year isn’t the Jarred Brooks of this year. If I win, I’m definitely just going to point to my dad and just give him the biggest smile I’ve ever given in my life. I know he’s going to be enjoying it as much as I am. If I get a pin under those lights, it will definitely be one of the best moments of my life.” And with that win, he’ll be putting a perfect ending to the story of his high school wrestling career. “Now, it’s my time,” he said.
