Jefferson's Fielding has sights set on state title this season
Dec. 21—ANDOVER — After placing sixth in the state of New York a season ago, Jefferson's Brogan Fielding is now happy to be in Ohio,
The junior is excited about seeing how he stacks up against competition in the Buckeye State.
"It's fun," Fielding said between bouts during last Saturday's Laker Shaker duals tournament at Pymatuning Valley High School. "Ohio is probably a little better than New York wrestling wise. So, I like the competition. I'm working every day, I'm definitely looking to win that state title this year."
He's definitely off to a good start with a 13-0 record, and a top-five ranking at 132 pounds in Division II, according to borofanohio.net. Included in his 13 wins are four pins and six technical falls.
Ohio is just the latest stop for Fielding. Aside from Ohio and New York, he has lived in Georgia and spent five years overseas in Germany.
Fielding's brother, Ben, wrestles at Division II Belmont Abbey in North Carolina, while his sister, McKinley, runs track at Toledo. His late father, Ben, was an All-American at Thiel College in wrestling.
The vast amount of experiences Fielding been exposed to has contributed much to who he is today. At the same time, though, he said it's still all about putting the work in to get where you want to go.
"For sure," he said. "I know what's gonna make me better, I know what's gonna make me worse. It's just about putting in the work. Ultimately, you work harder and you work smarter, things take care of themselves."
For Fielding, what he's hoping to take care of is winning a state title next March. He knows Ohio competition is amongst the best in the country, but confidence is not an issue for him either.
"I want it more than most of the guys out there," Fielding said. "I'm confident on my feet, nobody can take me down. I set my goals high, I believe I'm the best out there, even though 132 is probably the deepest weight out there. I feel like it's mine for the taking. With the work I put in this summer, I'm extremely confident."
He's not the only one excited.
Falcons coach Cody Lewis said what Fielding has brought to his wrestling room is invaluable.
"He's really brought a lot more focus," Lewis said. "He has the mindset and a goal and he's going to do whatever he needs to accomplish that goal.
"He will wrestle all day every day, winter, spring, summer and fall, and that's not something we've had a lot of here and it's good to have that kind of example in the room. And, he's just a good kid, he's very coachable."
Fielding is one of several wrestlers that Lewis is excited about this winter.
Jefferson returns several district qualifiers from a year ago who are hungry to reach the next step when March comes around.
Jacob Lewis (120) is at 17-5, DJ Partridge (144) 14-7, Braden Dietrich (165) 15-3, Matt Webster (175) 12-5, Reed Edgar (190) 11-2, Wade Woodworth (215) 9-3 and Mason Pawlowski (285) 15-2.
While multiple wrestlers are off to a good start, Lewis said there is still some catching up to do. Guys like Woodworth, Pawlowski, Edgar and others were late getting into the room due to the football team's extended postseason run.
"That's hurting us a little bit," Lewis said. "We have a few guys that their weight classes are not in the right spot. Guys are wrestling in different spots than I think they'll be at the end of the season."
Jefferson finished second finish at the PV tournament. They will next be in action on Dec. 29 in the Northeast 8 Conference Duals at Girard.
Once January arrives, the Falcons have a home match with Geneva before getting ready for the Perry Pin City Tournament on the 7th.
