Lake Gibson's Brendon Abdon caps high school career as a national champ
To say Brendon Abdon has had a stellar high school wrestling career would be an understatement. He has won multiple individual state titles, placed high in prestigious tournaments and is nationally ranked.
So how do you cap that before beginning a college career at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock?
Well, how about winning a national title?
Abdon won the 160-pound class in the Greco-Roman competition at the 2022 US Marine Corps Junior Nationals held in Fargo, North Dakota, to cap six days of competition.
Honors: The Ledger's co-Wrestlers of the Year are Jeremiah Jackson, Brendon Abdon
State champ: Wrestling: Lake Gibson's Abdon, Kathleen's Jackson capture state title
All-County wrestling: The Ledger's 2021-22 All-County Wrestling
Battling through a tough draw, he reached the final and pinned his opponent in 42 seconds.
"It was incredible," Abdon said. "It was unbelievable. The fact, that it was my last high school match, and it was the last time that my dad would be in my corner as a coach. But it was great to end in my high school career as a national champion."
Abdon felt confident heading into the competition. He had been training all summer for the meet, which would be the final high school tournament of his career. He was especially motivated after missing the competition his junior year because of an injury.
"I knew that there was a chance, I just had to leave it all out on the mat, especially since it was my last high school tournament," Abdon said.
He began the tournament with a seventh-place finish in the freestyle competition in the first three days of competition to earn All-American status.
Next came the Greco-Roman competition.
Seeded No. 10, he defeated the No. 2 seed in the round of 16 before winning his quarterfinal match to earn double All-American status.
In the semifinals, he defeated Cody Chittum from Tennessee, 7-5. Chittum was the freestyle national champion and is currently the No. 1 rising senior in the country.
"We knew the things Cody likes to score on," said Brian Abdon, Brendon's father and coach. "We had a plan, and it worked out. Brendon got a couple of scores, and then he (Chittum) started getting frustrated, and we scored on him getting out of position."
In the final, Brendon took on Greco-Roman specialist Jadon Skellenger, an Under-15 Greco-World champion who most recently finished second at the UWW Under-20 World team trial.
The match began with a 50-50 situation. Abdon slipped the first time he tried to make a move but caught himself. The second time, he gained the advantage, got Skellenger on the match and quickly got the pin.
"I knew once once we we set it out of the position that it was over, it was just a matter of time," Abdon said. "I just looked at at my corner. They were telling me how much I needed for the pin."
When the referee signaled pin, Brendon was a national champion.
"It was a daunting task," Brian Abdon said. "Now the thing I can say over the course of this spring is he's beaten some really good kids and his own confidence is high. Brendon has gotten to the point where he just doesn't care who he wrestles.
"He doesn't look at it and say, 'I have a Fargo champ, I have an Ironman champ, I have a national prep champ ... he's beaten all those kids this spring in the Olympics Styles. In freestyle, he's beaten the best-of-the-best kids in the spring. So the confidence is there."
In the freestyle competition, Brendon said he accomplished his goal.
"I wasn't disappointed (with finishing seventh)," he said. "I definitely thought I could have done better. I lost early, then I had a wrestle back and then get all the way to that match. I wasn't disappointed, but my goal going into freestyle was to place and I got the job done."
The next level is college. Brendon will be joined at Arkansas Little Rock by two other wrestlers who won national titles last week. The current plan is to redshirt next season, although the college rules will allow him to wrestle in a limited number of events. He's looking forward to going from an elite high school program to an elite college program.
"When I was at Lake Gibson, there was always a target on your back," said Brendon. "You were one of the best (teams) in the state, so everyone wanted to to beat you.
"The same goes for Little Rock, it's just in a different way. We have a chip on our shoulder. We're fighting to be one of the best teams in the country, and we're out there to prove that. All of our goals are the same, and that's to become a national champion."
Roy Fuoco can be reached at roy.fuoco@theledger.com or at 863-802-7526. Follow him on Twitter: @RoyFuoco.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Gibson's Brendon Abdon caps high school career as a national champ
