THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: Friday, February 26, 2016
Jared Walker was but a sophomore when he finished third last season at 170 pounds at the state 4A wrestling tournament in Holt Arena at Idaho State University in Pocatello.
Think this Hawk would be happy with another third-place finish a year later, in this year’s state tournament that begins today and runs through Saturday? Think again.
One of his main obstacles was fellow junior Casey Randles of Sandpoint, who is the defending state champion in Walker’s weight class. This season, in the state rankings on TheIdahoWrestler.com, Walker, still at 170, and Randles — who moved up to 182 class — are each ranked No. 1. Another Sandpoint wrestler, Luke Stebbins, is ranked No. 5 in 170.
“The state experience was really fun,” Walker said of last season. “I tried to stay with the top wrestlers. I lost a 5-2 decision to Casey (in the semifinals), he got a takedown and a near-fall at the end of a round. I’m 0-3 against him lifetime. We’re friends off the mat but we’re rivals on it. He’s always gotten the best of me.”
MARTY WALKER, Jared’s father, was the director of operations of the Lakeland Wrestling Club from 2003 to 2013. So to speak, Jared all but had the keys to the gym growing up and has wrestled since he was 4. They live with Karin, Jared’s mother, and his brother, Karsen.
“I definitely think I’ve gotten better,” Walker said. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the wrestling room. Our dream is to become state champions, we’re only going to lose one senior after this season.”
Marty Walker is now self-employed and runs a small business selling control valves. For just the first two months of his sophomore season, Jared Walker attended and wrestled for Lewiston High, where he and his father moved to and lived for a brief time. He’s spent the rest of his life living in the north part of Hayden.
“He was seeing if he liked change,” Jared said. “He wanted to see what life was like outside of this area. But dad didn’t like it, so we moved back.”
WALKER WANTS to try to wrestle at Oregon State University, one of the top programs in the country.
“I want to be a registered nurse,” Walker said. “I wanted to be a certified nurse assistant after my freshman year, when I volunteered at an assisted living facility in Lewiston.”
I’ve personally seen plenty of male RNs who look very tough. As a nephew of quite a few nurses, I know for a fact you’ve got to have a mental and of course, physical toughness in order to do the job. So Walker has a head start of sorts, if he ends up becoming one.
Lakeland wrestling coach Rob Edelblute has enjoyed watching Walker, the old man of sorts on a team with almost no seniors, grow, showcase his talent and get even better through the years.
“He’s a team leader on a young team,” Edelblute said. “He was so close there at state. I think he’s one of those kids who keeps everyone on their toes.”
In late July in Fargo, N.D., Walker competed in the USA Wrestling Cadet Freestyle tournament.
“He was one match away from being All-American,” Edelblute said.
As for state this weekend, “we have a chance of bringing either a second- or third-place trophy,” Edelblute said. “Caldwell is the top dog and it’s a numbers game.”
One of those numbers — as in number one — for Lakeland could be Walker.
Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, via e-mail at bbourquin@cdapress.com or via Twitter @bourq25