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The Will to win

Bishop Ryan senior pins his way to 220 championship

Garrick Hodge/MDN Bishop Ryan's Jordan Will, bottom, makes his move in trying to pin Hettinger-Scranton's Jacob Schalesky, top, during the Class B 220-pound state title match Saturday at the Fargodome. Will won the championship by pinning Schalesky.

FARGO — There was no one better in the North Dakota Class B 220-pound weight class all season than Bishop Ryan’s Jordan Will.

The senior wrestler proved that sentiment in dominating fashion Saturday at the Fargodome, pinning Hettinger-Scranton’s Jacob Schalesky in 2 minutes and 42 seconds in the state title match. It was Will’s fourth pin in as many matches in the individual portion of the tournament. He finished with 41 pins on the season, one short of tying his own Class B record he set a year ago. Will’s overall record stands at 58-1, his lone loss coming at the Rumble on the Red tournament to a Minnesota wrestler.

“It was a great way to finish,” Will said. “Going into the season, I had a few goals in mind. One was to finish undefeated and win Rumble on the Red. I wasn’t able to do that, but it was great to finish strong and not lose since that tournament.

“Being undefeated in North Dakota and being able to pin my way through the state tournament was just really special.”

Bishop Ryan coach Steve Lipp said he believed there wasn’t a more dominating wrestler this season than Will. As an example, he pointed to Will wrestling up a weight class in Ryan’s dual meet against Carrington Friday. Will squared off against 285-pound Bradee Schroeder, the eventual Class B heavyweight state champion, and beat him in a 5-3 decision.

“He pinned everybody in the state in the 220 Class B weight class except for Max Defender,” Lipp said. “Jordan probably could have tied his own record for pins if we wrestled him in his own weight class in that dual, but Jordan wanted to face Bradee.

“That’s just the kind of kid he is, a true competitor.”

The championship marks the second straight title for Will, who realized he could have title aspirations his freshman year when he earned a sixth-place finish.

“When I was younger, I never imagined this could happen,” Will said. “But after my first time placing at state, I knew I just had to keep working. I did summer wrestling and took any other opportunities to practice outside the season. That’s where you can grow, it’s important to focus on offseason wrestling to get to where I am.”

Will isn’t done wrestling yet, as he will wrestle for Minot State next winter while also playing football for the Beavers.

“It’s going to feel great carrying this success into college,” Will said. “But I need to get to work to be successful out there. It’s a different ball game in college. It’s more demanding and a little less fun than high school, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Garrick Hodge covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @Garrick_Hodge.

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