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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 26, 2006 Eagle Point wrestler Jake McCoy is ranked No. 1 in the state at 152 pounds and boasts a 30-2 record. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Quiet Fury Jake McCoy’s balance of peace off the mat and aggression on it has made him one of the best 152-pound wrestlers in the country By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Jake McCoy the person: Quiet, reserved, introspective. Jake McCoy the wrestler: Aggressive, fearless, lively. It’s a transformation that would make Clark Kent proud, and it’s one that makes McCoy one of the top 152-pound high school wrestlers in the country. The Eagle Point High standout has compiled a 30-2 record and is ranked No. 1 in the state and 14th nationally. "He’s a mellow, calm guy, but he definitely changes personalities when he steps on the mat," says Brandon Price, the Eagles’ 160-pounder who has wrestled with McCoy since the third grade. "And this year he’s really stepped it up." McCoy will shoot for a rare fourth straight Southern Oregon Conference district title next month, then set his sights on a state title at the Class 4A state tournament Feb. 16-18 in Salem. Advertisement Don’t bet against him. Last year, McCoy dropped a 9-6 decision to Silverton’s John Dibala in the semifinals and had to settle for third place at the state meet. The loss resulted largely from Dibala repeatedly locking heads with McCoy. The tie-ups were legal, but McCoy wasn’t accustomed to such infighting. "The guy (Dibala) was in my face and beating on my head," McCoy says. "I wasn’t used to that. I came back in the third round and made it close, but it was too late." McCoy met with Eagles coach Kacey McNulty after they returned to Eagle Point to talk about his senior year. "I just told him he was one-dimensional on his feet," McNulty says. "Jake liked being in the open position, but you’ve got to be ready for a guy attacking your head." McCoy, who is being recruited by Oregon, Oregon State and Wyoming, worked ceaselessly in the offseason to rectify the weakness and now uses the head-hunting tactic himself. "I’ve made it part of my wrestling," he says. "The same shots don’t work on everybody. The bigger your bag of tricks, the better off you’re going to be." Although McCoy has two losses, he easily could be unbeaten. One of the setbacks came following an injury default ruling while competing against Grants Pass’ Tanner Marval. McCoy was dominating the match when he was called for an illegal hold that injured Marval and kept him from continuing. McCoy’s only other loss was a 3-1 decision to Talon Knox of Brighton, Utah, in the 152-pound championship match of the Reno Tournament of Champions, which is billed as one of the top tournaments in the country. The match was tied 1-1 in the final 20 seconds when McCoy went for a takedown. He knocked Knox to the mat but Knox scrambled out of trouble and then registered his own takedown with just seconds left. "I had him rocked up on his back but he had his hands locked and so it wasn’t a takedown," McCoy says. "Then he rolled through, came back up and got me." McCoy, who is home schooled, doesn’t participate in any other high school sport. Wrestling, he says, gives him everything he needs in an extracurricular activity: recreation, competition and an outlet to release the frustrations of everyday life. "Out of all the sports, I think wrestling takes the most skill, strength, discipline and technique," McCoy says. "It’s just you out there. When you succeed, you know you’ve earned it, and when you lose, you have no one to blame but yourself." It’s also a sport that encourages its participants to lose weight. McCoy dropped from 160 pounds to 152 last week to make room for Price, who recently became eligible. The lower weight should also make McCoy a bigger threat at the state meet. "(Cutting weight) is part of wrestling," says McCoy, whose diet this time of year consists largely of fruit, lean meats and complex carbohydrates such as whole wheat bread. "It sucks, but you learn to deal with it." McCoy, who quietly offered more dialogue in the interview for this story than he probably has all week, heads off to another practice. Once the drills begin, he’ll metamorphose into a super aggressive human being. A pit bull in a wrestling singlet. "Unless you know him really well, Jake won’t talk to you," Price says. "But wrestling brings him out of his shell." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail Quiet Fury ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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