By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Jordan Oliver can execute a takedown quicker than his opponent can say “gecko.”
The Easton, Pa., senior is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 130 pounds by InterMatwrestle.com. Lead writer Jason Bryant calls the 5-foot-5 teenager “one of the fastest wrestlers on his feet that I ever have seen. He’s one of the best (ever) coming out of Easton, which is one of the nation’s elite programs.”
Speaking of geckos, Easton coach Steve Powell enjoys telling the story about his wrestlers trying to catch the tiny lizards on a beach in Orlando, Fla., last summer. “Most of them were using two hands and only had one or two in a bottle – what a normal athlete would catch,” Powell noted. “Jordan was using one hand and probably had a whole soda bottle full.”
Oliver, who currently has a 33-0 record and has won his last 60 matches, recalled, “Nobody on our team could catch them. I guess I’ve got quick hands. I got over 30.”
He has placed himself in the legendary category by becoming the all-time winner in Easton’s fabled wrestling history. With the Pennsylvania state finals still ahead, he has compiled a sparkling career record of 168-5. He has close to 700 career takedowns and has not been taken down since he was a sophomore.
Oliver can trace his love for wrestling to his brother Josh, who is three years older. “It was kind of monkey-see, monkey-do,” Oliver described as he followed Josh to wrestling practice and matches. He began competing on the mat at age five at the St. Anthony Youth Center. The first year he was limited to “exhibition” matches, but the next year he became a varsity starter. Most of his off-season honors have been achieved under the banner of the Easton Gold Medal Wrestling Club.
Oliver gives Josh much credit for his success, pointing out, “He pushed me a lot and always wanted to make me better. The moves came natural, but the mental part was the hardest – just being confident. I’m really good on my feet. Quickness helps, but the set-ups you use (are most important).”
His confidence received a major boost at age seven when he recorded his first big victory – a national championship at 45 pounds in Albany, N.Y. “I didn’t think anything about it,” he said. “A day later my mom said that after I won, I started crying. I told her I wasn’t crying because I won, but because there wasn’t anyone left to wrestle.”
That was just the tip of the iceberg, however, because Oliver also won national championships at ages 8-9-10-11 before coming up short at age 12. He resumed his title march with victories at ages 13-14-15-16-17.
He actually was a standout football running back from kindergarten through seventh grade, but his mother made him give up the sport to protect his budding wrestling career.
Powell, who coaches the Easton Gold Medal Wrestling Club in the off season, got his first look at Oliver when he was attending elementary school. He recalled, “At that age he had very good athletic ability and awareness. I just wondered about commitment. He certainly made himself. He can do anything that you show him. He’s exceptional on his feet and very athletic. He studies the sport.”
Oliver was an instant hit as a freshman at Easton High. He compiled a 42-4 record at 103 pounds (he actually weighed only about 95) and placed second in the state tournament. As a sophomore, he totally dominated with a 48-0 record and a state title at 103 pounds. He also was ranked No. 1 in the nation.
The summer after his sophomore year, he competed in the rugged national freestyle tournament in Fargo, N.D. He wrestled 11 matches in three days and won the 112-pound national championship.
As a junior, Oliver compiled a 45-1 record and won the state title at 119 pounds. The only blemish on his record was a loss in the finals at the Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev.
To win the state title, he had to defeat co-favorite Chris Sheetz (Pennsburg Upper Perkiomen) in the semifinals. Sheetz – a state champ at 112 pounds two years earlier – had pushed him to the wire in a previous outing. He won the crucial match, 5-2.
“It was not as exciting as the year before (his first state title), but it was harder,” Oliver said of the challenging match.
Oliver returned to Fargo last summer to win another national crown at 119 pounds. He had to wrestle 10 matches in two days.
The Easton superstar says the Fargo tournament “takes more out of you. Pennsylvania is tough, but Fargo is a whole other ballpark. It is way more competition and way more matches and you get a variety of kids (from across the country). Your body definitely is beaten up and you’re tired. You definitely have to be mentally tough because you are going to have a lot of matches. You can’t crack and you have to push through whether your body is tired or not. I just treat every match the same and keep working hard.”
Last summer’s championship was even more remarkable because Oliver wrestled with a fractured nose and sprained wrist. “I thought it was going to slow me down,” he conceded. “But on the mat you don’t really feel any pain. Nobody knew I had a broken nose because I didn’t cover it. There were three of us on the same side of the bracket who had won national championships. I just concentrated and blocked everything out.”
Thus far this winter, Oliver’s closest match has been eight points. He set a record with 37 takedowns during the prestigious Manheim tournament. The record of 35 had been held by Jamar Billman, now an assistant coach at Easton.
Being ranked No. 1 in the nation for the second time in his career “is a great accomplishment,” he says. “It shows the hard work that I have put into it, because everybody’s coming for you. I always thought about it while going to high school matches and watching the NCAA on TV.”
Oliver carries a 3.6 GPA and particularly enjoys math and science. He plans to major in either business or architectural engineering next year when he attends Oklahoma State University.
Asked why he chose Oklahoma State, he replied, “I really like and look up to (head coach) John Smith. They have a bunch of good guys who are going to push me and make me better. It’s somewhere that I know I am going to succeed.”
Concerning long-term goals, he says, “Hopefully, winning the Olympics (at 132 pounds) four years from now. But if not, then in the next eight years.”
