JESSE MENDEZ & GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Mendez wins “Who’s No. 1?” national tournament in Austin, Texas

BY SAMUEL BREWER co-sports editor

On Oct. 3, junior wrestler Jesse Mendez gained a title many athletes dream of, but few can obtain. After competing at FloWrestling’s “Who’s Number One?” tournament held in Austin, Texas, Mendez was ranked as the number one wrestler in the entire country in his 138 pound weight class. Mendez was happy to get the opportunity.

“I enjoy getting to wrestle against the best in the country and getting to prove myself. I’m always one to chase the best competition so when I was invited to WNO again I was super excited to get to scrap again after this pandemic,” Mendez said.

A large difference between this year’s event and that of years prior was the absence of crowds. Even without the crowd noise, Mendez’s coach Bill Hawkin was surprised and appreciative of the work that FloWrestling did to create suspense in the event.

“It was different. If you wrestle in an event like that there is usually a big crowd, people are cheering and yelling your name. This event was held in a convention center, but they still had the music and the smoke. They had the commentators for FloWrestling in the same room. It was still a high energy, high emotion event,” Hawkin said.

Hawkin, along with other coaches at the Region Wrestling Academy, has been working with Mendez since he was seven years old, where he immediately saw someone special.

“At an early age we saw signs of a lot of talent there. His work, ethic and his talent level were at another level even when he was young,” Hawkin said.

The WNO usually puts the two top wrestlers in the country against one another, but Mendez’s weight group was different, so they brought the top three wrestlers in the country to compete, Mendez

Junior Jesse Mendez takes down opponent Joel Van during the FloWrestling “Who’s Number 1?” tournament. Mendez won the tournament’s 138 lb weight class, securing his spot as the No. 1 high school wrestler in the nation in this weight class. Mendez plans to continue his wrestling career at the collegiate level and hopes to qualify for the Olympic games in the future.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY SAM JANICKI

coming in at the number two rank.

Instead of only needing to beat one of the best wrestlers in the nation, he had to defeat two. After beating third ranked Jordan Williams of Oklahoma, he had to face off against top ranked Joel Vandervere of Illinois for the title of number one.

Mendez was in trouble in the final period, he was down 3-0 and very close to losing his chance at becoming number one in the nation, but his confidence never faltered and he mounted a stunning comeback victory in overtime of the match.

“His mindset was ‘I’m gonna win the match, nobody’s gonna stop me’. Jesse had the mindset, the motor, and the conditioning to get it done. He said ‘I’m not going to stop wrestling, I’m going to win the match, I’m in better shape, and I’ve out worked everyone.’ That’s just the mindset he has,” Hawkin said.

After becoming number one in the nation, many would feel pressure to hold on to this title, but Mendez doesn’t think anything changes.

“I don’t feel much pressure. I love this sport and I love competing so even though I have a number one ranking to protect I’m still going to give it everything I’ve got,” Mendez said.

After this win, Mendez was crowned number one in the nation for his weight class. Once he returned to Crown Point, he was welcomed with a parade around the

takes down opponent Joel Van during the FloWrestling “Who’s Number 1?” tournament. Mendez won the tournament’s 138 lb weight class, securing his spot as the No. 1 high school wrestler in the nation in this weight class. Mendez plans to continue his wrestling career at the collegiate level and hopes to qualify for the Olympic games in the future.

square celebrating his accomplishments.

“When I came back to the square in Crown Point getting to see everybody that has supported me throughout this process was awesome. It’s really cool to see that the community is behind what I’m doing and it makes it that much easier to keep grinding for the long term goal,” Mendez said.

Even with all of the accomplishments he has achieved, he is not yet satisfied. According to Mendez, his goals are to compete for national championships at the Division I level, and eventually compete in the Olympics.

Hawkin is confident that Mendez will achieve his goals and believes that Mendez’s work ethic is what sets him apart.

“He’s always doing something to better himself,” Hawkin said. “He puts so much time, effort and hard work into this sport. Jesse outworks everybody, bottom line. If we go for a long run, he wins the run. If we run sprints, he wins the sprints. If we swim laps he’ll win the laps. He’s a super competitive kid who has a deep desire to win.”

Even though Mendez has competed and dominated at the highest level that he can at his age, he is still striving to improve as a wrestler.

“I don’t think my mindset changes,” Mendez said. “I want to be the best in the world and the most dominant wrestler ever so I will continue to train the same way I have been.”

INKLINGS 17 Burgos reflects on senior season, looks forward to running at Purdue

BY SAMUEL BREWER co-sports editor

The girls cross country team finished their season with a ninth place finish at semi-state on Oct. 24. The team had an average time of 20:34 at the meet. While Coach Allison Florek is sad that the team’s season is over, she is happy with the way the team competed this season.

“Qualifying for state as a team was one of our team goals this season. Therefore, it was disappointing that it did not happen. However, I am proud of how we performed throughout the season. The athletes continued to improve and work through challenges each meet,” Florek said.

Senior Jaelyn Burgos has verbally committed to running cross country at Purdue University. Burgos notes that although she is looking forward to competing at the collegiate level, she will still miss her high school cross country experience.

“I’ll miss my teammates and my coaches. The sport itself has given me so many memories that I’ll remember forever. It’s made me into the person I am today and has taught me so many lessons that I can apply to life,” Burgos said.

While the team finished their postseason at semi-state, Burgos qualified individually for the state meet. Burgos placed 74th at the state meet.

“It was exciting for me individually but I really wish my whole team made it because it would’ve been a more fun experience. I brought along two other teammates to train with me so I wasn’t completely by myself. It was fun . We had a lot of laughs,” Burgos said.

Florek attributes a lot of leadership in the team to Burgos.

“Jaelyn is a leader on our team. She has run varsity and been one of our top finishers since starting her high school career. She is someone that other athletes on the team look up to. It is nice to have fast runners, but it is more important to have athletes who are good teammates. That is Jaelyn,” Florek said.