Joshua Jasso is channeling David Taylor these days. Taylor, a former NCAA wrestling champion at Penn State, has since conquered the World University Games and the world championship at his weight, 190 pounds. He has videos that Jasso, the defending 195-pound champ in the Eastern League from La Jolla High, consumes to elevate his game.
“I study [Taylor’s] movement and stance. My stance [at the opening of bouts] was OK. My movement was a weakness. I’m just learning to be lighter on my feet. To move around the mat, and not stay in the same spot.”
What that’s about is “finding angles,” avenues to attack his opponent (“shoot”) that are not head-on but to the side. This affords Joshua, a senior, the opportunity to prevent his foe from sprawling and easily negating his approach.
Carrying a weighted 4.2 grade point average during fall football, more recently a 5.0 in AP Government/Economics, AP Calculus, AP Biomedicine, and so forth — in addition to a Mesa College Broadcast Journalism course on the LJHS campus — Jasso has successfully engineered the late transition from the Vikings’ state football finalists to wrestling season, which was already well underway when he arrived in coach Kellen Delaney’s wrestling room Dec. 16.
“I had to accelerate things, coming over late after football,” relates the personable young man. “I worked out with my dad [Jack, a former Patrick Henry High star] on our mats at home, and in practice at school with some of the coaches in our program. That has been tough, but good for my progress.”
Returning as the defending Eastern League champ at 195 pounds, he quickly pinned opponent Armando Rios from San Diego High in 45 seconds in the first period in his initial competition back from football in early January. “I reached over for the headlock throw and flipped him [Rios] over,” said Jasso after his dominant performance. He looked quick and strong in going on the offensive from the opening faceoff.
In La Jolla’s second league dual meet, Jasso literally took seconds longer to pin junior Jose Tamayo of Point Loma. With the fall in 47.1 seconds, Josh, not making excuses, said, “With my sprained [right] ankle, it was harder for me to lock him down.” The injury occurred the day before in practice, working with big Danny Molestina, a heavyweight (over 220 pounds).
In addition to Jasso at 195, the Vikings are blessed with a strong contingent of lower-weight wrestlers this year: Zeke Pearl, a returning sophomore at 132 pounds, started the season with numerous pins and has continued to grow in proficiency. Classmate Buzzy Bomberger provides a powerful one-two punch with Pearl early in dual meets at 126 pounds. Buzzy placed third at the Division 4 finals last year at 115 pounds.
Another powerhouse at 138 pounds is junior Keegan Leonard, in his third year of wrestling for the Vikings. Last year, Leonard placed sixth in the Division 4 finals at 134 pounds.
