Last Saturday at the Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships in Kent, it was hard to notice that Jake Percival had just become the third wrestler in conference history to win four straight titles by looking at him.
Everyone's always more excited than Jake is
197-pound wrestler Joel Weimer said. Like last year when he was second in the country I swear we were all bouncing off the walls and Jake's just like
'Yeah
all right.' That laid back all right is quintessentially Percival, easy-going and modest.
He has always been humble
his mother, Tammy Percival, said. Even in high school when he wrestled and won the state championship he was like that. They raised his hand and Jake was just there
doing his thing
not cheering
not being showy at all. The success has never gone to his head, despite the 137-9 career record, the four conference championships, the fifth-, fourth-and second-place finishes in the NCAA, and the sheer domination he has over the majority of his opponents.
Percival never predicted that his experience as a college wrestler could be this monumental.
I never really thought about all of this happening
Percival said. A goal of mine was to be an All-American I guess. It wasn't a huge surprise
but it happened faster than I ever expected it to. An All-American The road to wrestling began early, when Percival was only 6, thanks to encouragement from his family, especially his father and uncle, both of whom wrestled in high school.
At first, however, it was something just to keep a young kid busy and out of trouble, because like most kids, Percival played many other sports, as well. But it was a trip to the YMCA with his dad, Joe, at home in Elyria, Ohio, that shifted his focus toward wrestling.
He saw all the trophies that wrestlers had won
