Jake Clark is extremely gifted in wrestling and loves everything about the sport. You can tell that much just from watching him compete or listening to him talk.
Jake Clark (Photo/Spencer Yohe)On the mat, he's talented beyond belief. Dan Chandler, who has been a part of the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman coaching staff since 1988 and served as the head Olympic coach in 2000, calls Jake a "master technician." He's ferocious and explosive. His hips are uncanny. And he despises losing more than anything else in the world.
Off the mat, he's as humble as they come. He goes through life with a carefree attitude, loves to have fun in every aspect of his life, and doesn't take himself seriously.
"Wrestling is important, but it's more important to make sure that I'm having fun," said Jake. "If I wasn't enjoying my time, I wouldn't have the drive to do it."
Dan Hicks has known Jake since 2000 when the two became teammates on the All-Marine wrestling team. Hicks now serves as head coach of the All-Marine team.
"Jake is always happy and optimistic," said Hicks, a nine-time All-Armed Forces gold medalist. "He's softhearted. He really doesn't say a bad thing about anybody. I think his goal is to have as much fun as possible."
Jake Clark (Photo/John Sachs)"Jake is very genuine," said Antonelli, who still acts as a coach on the All-Marine wrestling team, but is now stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. "He's a caring person. He could be getting ready to wrestle in the national finals and he'd say, 'Hey, how's your wife doing?' He's just a very nice guy."
Jake the Protege
Anyone who had any sort of involvement in Minnesota/USA Wrestling events during the late 1980's and 90's knows the legend of Jake Clark. He was The Man. Or back then, he was The Boy. He reeled off state championship after state championship. If the name Jake Clark was listed on your wall chart, well, the best you could hope for was a second place trophy. He was advanced well beyond his years.
Jake's brother, Joey, who is four years older, was the first to make a name for the Clark family on the mat while wrestling for the HiFlyers, a prominent club in Mound, Minnesota, founded by the late Tim "Fuzzy" Friederichs. Joey, like many of the young HiFlyer wrestlers, did very well on the local Minnesota wrestling scene. He would eventually go on to win five Minnesota/USA state titles.
Before Jake was old enough to wrestle for the HiFlyers, though, he would tag along with Joey to the practices and roll around with some of the other wrestlers' younger brothers.
But when Tami Clark signed up her 5-year-old son, Jake, for the HiFlyers, a Minnesota youth wrestling legend was born.
Jake won his first Minnesota/USA state title in freestyle when he was just 6 years old. He won another when he was 7, another when he was 8, another when he was 9, well, you get the gist. He didn't lose. And when he did lose, which wasn't often, the news spread like wildfire. It was as if someone had just landed on the moon. When it was all said and done, Jake won between 15 and 20 Minnesota/USA state titles. He won so many that he lost count along the way.
Marty Morgan"I've always said this from the very get go, from when I first saw him to now, Jake Clark is probably the best little kids wrestler I've ever seen," said Morgan. "Naturally, he could do everything. Everything you taught him, he could just go out and do. He was pure athlete."
Jake and his family left Mound and the HiFlyers Wrestling Club in 1990 and moved to a nearby city, Chaska, for a year, before settling in South St. Paul.
Around that time, Jerry Nauer, local referee who coached the South St. Paul Wrestling Club, took Jake and Joey under his wing and provided support for the two young boys. Jake and Joey were raised by their single mother, Tami, who was the epitome of a supportive wrestling mother. She became a staple at every wrestling event in Minnesota. Nauer became the father figure that Jake and Joey never had.
"(Jerry Nauer) has been more than just a wrestling coach," said Jake. "I think pretty much all of Minnesota knows him as my dad. And that's great with me. That's pretty much what he is. He not only helped coach us, but he also stepped in as that father figure we never had. I owe him a lot. He's done more than a kid could ever ask for."
Jake began wrestling varsity at South St. Paul High School when he was in the 7th grade.
"I was wrestling at 103 pounds and weighed about 95 pounds," recalled Jake of his first season on varsity. "I remember, I would eat lunch and then go weigh in. That doesn't really happen anymore. About the greatest memory I have of wrestling in 7th grade was not having to cut weight and trying to bulk up. Now, I've bulked up a little too much. I guess all of those extra lunches kind of hurt."
Dan Chandler"Jake kept a low profile when he first started coming to my Wednesday night practices," said Chandler, who wrestled on three Olympic Greco teams from 1976 to 1984. "He just came in and did what he needed to do. He didn't really draw too much attention to himself for a few years. But then he started getting awfully good in Greco and people started noticing that he had a lot of potential."
After Jake's sophomore year of high school, when he was 16 years old, he won the 143-pound title in Greco at the Cadet Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota. As a high school junior, he claimed the 152-pound Minnesota state high school title in Class AAA. Jake capped off his high school career the following year by winning his second state high school title, this time at 160 pounds. The summer after his senior year, he went out to Junior Nationals and won a Greco title and finished second in freestyle, losing in the finals to eventual NCAA champion Robbie Waller.
Jake the Gopher
During the fall of 1997, during Jake's senior year of high school, his phone wasn't ringing off the hook with college coaches wanting him to wrestle in their program. He wasn't sifting through mail or tearing open envelopes daily from programs like Oklahoma State, Iowa, and Iowa State.
"I wasn't recruited at all, which kind of hurt a little bit," said Jake. "I thought that I had done enough to get several college interested. Other kids in Minnesota were getting recruited by all these big schools. But for some reason I was never contacted. I think Michigan State called me a couple of times. Minnesota spoke with me a little bit. But I never had any other big schools contacting me. It hurt a little bit at that time as a high school kid. I thought I was doing all of the right things. I thought I was going to make an impact at whatever college I went to, yet nobody was really contacting me."
It's hard to know exactly why Jake wasn't recruited heavily. Maybe it was because he didn't wrestle for a state powerhouse like Apple Valley, or his neighboring school, Simley. Or, maybe it was because everyone was quick to classify him as a Greco specialist after he won a Cadet Nationals title in that style.
Jake Clark (Photo/John Sachs)Jake grew up wanting to someday wrestle for the hometown Gophers. All the way back to his days as a HiFlyer when he was coached by Marty Morgan and attended the matches at Williams Arena, he had wanted to be a Gopher.
According to Joey, "Any other offer that would have been out there wouldn't have even mattered to Jake. He has always been a Minnesota kid."
At the time, the Gopher coaches couldn't offer Jake an athletic scholarship because they had already invested scholarship money that year in three prized recruits: Luke Becker, Jared Lawrence, and Garrett Lowney.
"I remember going over to Jake's house and meeting with him and his mom," recalled Morgan, who has served as Minnesota's head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator since 1996. "On the last night before signing, I said, 'Come and give it a chance.' So he did."
Jake enrolled at Minnesota in the fall of 1998, despite the fact that he was only given financial aid. He soon found out that college life was much different than high school. Academically, he did just enough to get by in his first two quarters. On the wrestling mat, however, he continued to excel.
Jake posted an impressive 11-1 record as a redshirt. His only loss that season came at the hands of eventual two-time NCAA champion and reigning U.S. Nationals champion Donny Pritzlaff of Wisconsin, 5-2, at the Northern Iowa Open.
"Jake was doing great," said Morgan, who was named 1999 Assistant Wrestling Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. "There's no doubt he would have been very successful the next season as a redshirt freshman. You could tell his talent level was right there. He worked hard in the wrestling room and did the things he was supposed to do."
But during the third and fourth quarters, Jake struggled mightily in the classroom. The financial burden of having to come up with additional money to pay for his schooling (while many of his Gopher teammates were receiving athletic scholarships) caused additional stress. Academics became less of a priority while partying, playing video games, and just being a regular college student became his top priority.
"When you're a college freshman, sometimes things get in the way," said Jake's brother Joey. "Maybe you're just not as organized as you need to be. That was kind of Jake's deal, video games and the whole new college scene. I don't know how much college work he did."
Jake took a few summer classes at Minnesota before he decided that attending college wasn't the best route for him at that point in his life. He needed more structure.
Jake the Marine
If someone could have looked into the future and told Jake when he was in high school that he would someday join the Marines, he probably would have laughed hysterically. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined himself doing what his older brother did. Joey enrolled in the Marines after graduating from South St. Paul High School in 1994. It wasn't long before he earned a spot on the All-Marine wrestling team. It was the perfect fit for Joey. The college environment didn't really appeal to him, plus the Marines allowed for him to get paid to do something he loved.
Jake had always planned on wrestling in college. Even in high school, he never even considered the Marines. He had always planned on wresting in college, and once his collegiate wrestling career was over, he was going to train for the Olympics. But in March of 1999, at a time when he was struggling both academically and financially, and unsure as to what his future held as a collegiate wrestler, Jake spent his spring break visiting Joey at his Marine base in Quantico, Virginia. While he was staying with Joey, Jake was introduced to the All-Marine wrestlers as well as the coach, Jay Antonelli.
"Obviously, I knew having someone with Jake's talent would be a great addition to us, but I didn't pressure him," recalled Antonelli of the first time he spoke with Jake about the Marines. "He had a great thing going. The University of Minnesota is a great school and education is important, so I didn't want to pressure him away from that by any means. But I said, 'Hey, if school doesn't work out, this is a great option for you because you'll be able to wrestle with your brother and be on the team here.'"
Jake Clark (Photo/John Sachs)Jake was told that if he joined the Marines that there was a spot for him on the All-Marine wrestling team. His wrestling credentials alone were enough to prove that he belonged there. So Jake and the All-Marine wrestling coaches worked it out so that he would have a place on the team regardless of when he completed boot camp and Marine Combat Training (MCT).
"I can remember Jake's first practice in the Marines, it was pretty funny," recalled Joey, who finished up his duty with the Marines in 2003 and is now a successful Ultimate Fighter and Realtor living in Minneapolis. "Everybody was kind of whooping on Jake. I don't know if that was because his conditioning just wasn't there or what. We all just rotated in on him until he collapsed. Not even a week later, the tables completely turned and he pretty much just started whooping on everybody."
As a high school senior, Jake could have never imagined himself in the Marines. Now, eight years later, he has literally become the face of Armed Forces wrestling. In 2004, Jake was named Marine Corps Male Athletes of the Year. Up until this season, he had won double titles (freestyle and Greco) at the Armed Forces Championships every year since he joined the Marines. (In 2006, moving up a weight class to 96 kilograms, Jake did not win the championship for the first time in Greco.)
Jake the Jokester
Ask anyone who knows Jake personally about a joke or prank he's pulled over the years and the person's response is almost always the same. First a few laughs, then the stories begin flowing.
"He's a jokester," said Dan Hicks. "He's always doing practical jokes."
Marty Morgan remembers Jake as a jokester even when he was a little boy wrestling for the HiFlyers.
"The week of the state tournament he would go out and get some funny little haircut at 8 years old," said Morgan. "He would show up with a Mohawk, purple in his hair, or his weight carved in his hair. It was always kind of funny to see what he was going to show up with at the big tournaments."
Joey Clark"I thought I was going to have to kill him," recalled Joey.
Shortly after Jake's senior season in high school, he was invited to participate in the Minnesota/Wisconsin All-Star Classic held at Coon Rapids High School. It was an annual event which pitted Minnesota's top high school seniors against Wisconsin's top high school seniors in a dual meet format. Wrestlers were ordered to wear their respective high school singlets. However, Jake decided to switch singlets with another Minnesota wrestler, Todd Fuller, a standout wrestler from Annandale/Maple Lake and a longtime friend who he had grown up competing with and against. Jake wore Fuller's Annandale/Maple Lake singlet when he went out to wrestle and Fuller wore Jake's South St. Paul singlet. Jake was announced as Todd Fuller and Todd Fuller was announced as Jake Clark. The announcer hadn't noticed that the two wrestlers swapped singlets. He was confused and couldn't figure out what was going on.
But perhaps Jake's most memorable joke (or prank) came on April Fools Day 2003. It was at a time when the war in Iraq had just gotten underway and U.S. soldiers were being sent to Iraq left and right. Jake, who had been in the Marines for a few years at that point, decided to pull an April Fools joke on some of the rookie wrestlers.
On the morning of April 1, Jake came to his coach (Antonelli) and said, "We've got a get some of these rookies. It's April Fools Day. Let's do something." Jake came up with a plan: They were going to tell some of the rookie wrestlers that their units had called and that hey had to fly back to their units before heading to Iraq to go to war. So Antonelli told some of the rookie wrestlers after the morning practice, "You guys have to go back to your rooms and get your stuff packed up. And then we have to get you up to the airport and you guys are going to be flying out of Washington D.C. and back to your units." Some of the rookie wrestlers were panicking a bit. But most were excited. Being a Marine, that's what they had been trained to do. So the wrestlers went back to their rooms and packed up their stuff. After about 25 minutes, Jake came up to the room and told the rookie wrestlers, "You guys have to get going right now. I'm bringing you over to the airfield here and they're going to fly you up to the airport."
Jake Clark (Photo/The Guillotine)The rookie wrestlers emptied out all of their bags on the runway. As soon as they emptied their stuff, one of the helicopters started up. All of a sudden everyone realized, 'Wow, I can't believe it, we're actually going to Iraq.' The military policeman barked, "Listen, we don't have time. They're ready to go. Get your stuff back in your bags and we have to get you out of here." So the wrestlers crammed their stuff back in the bags. The military policeman threw their bags in the back of the van and instructed Jake to pull around by the helicopter so that they could get ready to depart. However, as Jake pulled his van back, the policeman came over to Jake's window, looked in the van, and said, "By the way, April Fools!" The rookie Marine wrestlers couldn't believe it. They were no longer headed to Iraq.
But the joke didn't end there. Jake decided to play a joke on his coach. He went to Antonelli's office and told him that one of the rookie wrestlers actually bought into the joke and drove home to Ohio because he wanted nothing to do with the war. Antonelli's eyes lit up. He couldn't believe it. He immediately picked up the phone and called the wrestler's father and said, "Listen, sir, we had an April Fools joke going here, but it went a little too far. Your son is on his way home." The wrestler's father was confused. And then all of a sudden the wrestler (who the coach thought was on his back home to Ohio) walked in and said, "April Fools!"
"They got me huge," recalled Antonelli.
Jake the World Traveler
Jake's wrestling career has taken him all over the world. He has stickers depicting the flags of every country he's ever been to on the back of his van: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Japan, Cuba, Mexico, and Canada.
"I just love seeing different cultures," said Jake. "It's really cool. Every time I'm in a new country or a new city, I see things that maybe I had seen in a history book when I was in high school. When I was in high school, I never thought I would see these things. It was just like, 'These are just pictures in a book.' But to actually be standing in front of these monuments, it's kind of surreal. It's amazing that I've had the chance to see all of these different things. I always tell people, in the sport of wrestling, I'm never going to make a million dollars. That's just so far out there. It's not going to happen. But with all of the traveling I've done, with all of the different places I've seen, that's worth more to me than that money could ever buy."
He speaks Russian very well and dabbles in a few other languages. Before he travels to a new country, he always buys a book to learn about the country's culture and its language so that he has enough knowledge to get by in the country.
Jake the Olympic Hopeful
Every year from 2003 to 2005, Jake finished runner-up at both the U.S. Nationals and World or Olympic Trials, losing to the same wrestler, Brad Vering, every single time. (Editor's Note: In 2005, Jake did not compete at the 2005 U.S. Nationals because he was in Japan fulfilling military obligations.)
"It definitely played some mind games on me," said Jake of his struggles with Vering. "I couldn't understand why it was just that one person I couldn't beat. Before, I lost to several different people, but always came back to beat them. There was nobody that had my number before. And Vering definitely did. It was pretty frustrating."
As Jake prepared for the 2006 U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas, he changed his entire approach. He changed things in his training and diet. He also worked to fix the small mistakes in the past that he had made against Vering.
"I think he refocused," said Dan Hicks. "He decided that he was tired of being No. 2, that it was time for him to be No. 1. He has always known what it would take to do that, I believe, but I think for a few years his priorities might not have been aligned like they are right now."
On April 15, Jake claimed his first-ever U.S. Nationals title in Las Vegas with a 1-1, 2-1 victory in the finals over Vering. He was also named Outstanding Wrestler for his efforts.
Jake Clark (Photo/John Sachs)After winning the U.S. Nationals title, Jake's focus now turns to the World Team Trials on May 27-28 in Sioux City, Iowa. If he can come out victorious there, which more than likely means defeating Vering again, Jake will earn on a spot on the 2006 U.S. World Team and be given the opportunity to represent Team USA at the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China, September 26-October 1.
Ever since Jake started wrestling when he was 5 years old, he has never wavered in his wrestling goal, which is to one day wrestle in the Olympic Games.
"I really can't ever recall thinking to myself, 'I want to be an NCAA champion,'" said Jake. "That's a great accomplishment, but it's not something I ever really strived to do. I've always looked past college and wanted something higher. I've always wanted the Olympics."
Dan Chandler believes the Olympic Games are a real possibility, but it's up to Jake.
"He's right where he needs to be," said Chandler. "I think Vering might be on the wrong side of the hill right now. He's going to battle Jake hard up to the Olympics. But if Jake wrestles right, trains right, and does the right things, he can be on the team. It's up to him."
Jake Clark will be ready for Beijing and the 2008 Olympic Games. But the question remains, will Beijing be ready for Jake Clark?
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