Kamerling and Jaspers Place 7th at State Wrestling
February 25, 2021
Senior Keean Kamerling (285) returned to compete at state for the second time, bringing along freshman Jackson Jaspers (132). Each brought home a seventh place medal. They supported each other the whole way through, winning and losing the same matches each round.
Kamerling had a successful junior year, qualifying for state yet falling short of making it on the podium. His past experience motivated him to work hard this season, using his feelings of disappointment from last year to fuel his fire. On day two of the state tournament, Keean fought for the seventh place spot. “I won 1-0 in what I knew was my last match,” Kamerling said. “There was no way after 14 years of competing that I was going to go out on a loss.” Kamerling took it all in and savored winning the last match of his wrestling career.
With the technique, strength and grit Jaspers embodied this season, wrestling fans expected him to be successful. As just a freshman he had the most wins out of anyone on the team, so it wasn’t surprising that he qualified for and placed at state. “I don’t know how he does it, but he always has a level head,” said Kamerling when describing Jaspers. Jaspers himself had some doubts about making it to state. “When I did make it to districts I was a little less confident,” he said. “I had two kids that I lost to earlier in the year in bracket.” Despite some tough obstacles, Jaspers pushed through. He enjoyed having Kamerling there with him, providing guidance in an unfamiliar situation.
