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Great athlete, great attitude By Chris Miller Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland high's standout wrestler, sophomore 152-pounder David Jacobson-Fried, triumphs on the mat with a mix of pure athletic ability and a good attitude. "I remember the first time I saw Dave wrestle was in his eighth grade year at the middle school and I went down to watch the matches," recalls third year Grizzly coach Aaron Sturdevant. "I think it was Dave's first match ever in his life, and he was losing 10-2 to this kid from Eagle Point I believe. And he and the kid rolled over each other about three or four times. You know, back and forth and back and forth, and rolled out of bounds. And Dave jumped up and threw his arm up in the air and started screaming and yelling - he was all excited about it. He was having so much fun that he didn't care that he was down 10-2. That's the attitude that he's brought toward wrestling, that he always has fun out there. And I knew right when I saw him that with his attitude and his athletic ability, this kid could be a good one." David Jacobson-Fried's coach believes the 152-pounder benefited from earlier experience in gymnastics. Ashland Daily Tidings/CHRIS MILLER Jacobson-Fried, who will lead the AHS wrestling team at the Southern Oregon Conference district meet Friday and Saturday at Eagle Point High, said he actually got interested in wrestling watching his older brother in the same middle school gym. "When my brother was in the seventh grade, I guess I was in fourth, I started wrestling with him," he said. "In middle school I did it because I thought it looked cool and my brother was doing it. Back then I was more into football, but it's pretty even now." Jacobson-Fried also plays in the backfield for the Grizz gridders as a fullback and halfback. He said his long-term goals for wrestling may depend on how far football can carry him. "I was thinking about a (college) scholarship in wrestling, but I don't know," he said. "It depends on what happens in football, but that would be cool to get a scholarship for wrestling." Sturdevant said wrestling may be the best way for Jacobson-Fried to compete in college. "Wrestling, it's the sport that he would have the best chance in college," Sturdevant said. "With his build - I've coached him in football also - and just seeing the potential that he has in each sport, wrestling should be his sport." Jacobson-Fried's athletic ability is not limited to just wrestling and football, he also had gymnastic training. Sturdevant said the gymnastics background helps Fried overcome his lack of mat experience with some competitors. "Dave has a real strong gymnastics background and I think that that definitely helps," Sturdevant said. "You can see it in his body control. Even if somebody has him up in the air, or on his back, Dave is still real aware of where his body is and how to move his body to get out of things. So that's made a huge difference for him." Even with his athletic ability, Jacobson-Fried can't make up for some of the Southern Oregon Conference's better wrestlers who have been involved in wrestling since they were very young. "He's an incredible athlete and he's been able with his athletic ability to compensate for not having a lot of wrestling experience. And that's what's made him be more successful than a lot of our other kids. Unfortunately, when he gets into the upper level wrestlers that we have in our conference, he runs into problems and that's where his lack of mat time shows." "We can't even make a full varsity team," Jacobson-Fried added. "Most of the teams in the SOC have mat clubs around the Rogue Valley, so they usually start wrestling when they can walk � The first wrestling thing we have is in the seventh grade." Jacobson-Fried said that the Ashland wrestling community has tried to build a mat program, but it didn't take. When the Grizz take to the mat for dual meets, the crowd will hear a lot of "forfeit Ashland," as the team only sends a handfull of wrestlers out to compete. But Fried said he likes the close-knit feel of the AHS team. "Since we're so small, there's only like nine or 10 of us, we're all really good friends and I guess we all really like to work out together," he said. "On the teams of like 80 people you don't really know everybody." Sturdevant said that even without many wins, he appreciates the team's effort. "They are a great group of kids," he said. "They are a pleasure to be around and they have a good work ethic. Unfortunately we don't have the numbers and we haven't been able to compete with a lot of teams in the dual meets. But in terms of the interactions with the athletes that I have, you couldn't ask for a better group of kids." Sturdevant said the Grizzlies' wrestling population may not grow in the next few years because of the many activities available to students in town. "There's a lot of things that tie into why we have such a small team," he said. "The fact that we don't have a mat program in Ashland, so we don't catch the kids when they're young. And there's so many other interests going on in Ashland. We have the ski and snowboard teams - they have done a great job of getting kids involved in racing when they're younger, so it makes it hard to get the mat program going. "It's also a community where we get a lot of support for the arts and the theater and so we have other kids that we have tried recruiting at the high school and middle school level who are more interested in drama and plays then they are into competitive sports." What ever the case, Jacobson-Fried seems to take it all in stride, even pausing to think about his academic career after his days as a Grizzly are through. "I like science a lot," he said. "I think probably I would like to do that in college." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -