Many of us find a special talent or dedicate ourselves with a desire to accomplish something specific that becomes a driving force within us.
Young Milan native Jake Cavins of Milan, son of Jeff and Missi is doing just that. From an early age, Cavins has worked, trained and used his skills wrestling, with a sincere hope to be the first Milan High School wrestler to wrestle all four HS years on the varsity team and to be the first Milan Indian State Wrestling Champion.
Milan wrestling has continued from its inception nearing 40+/- years ago to be recognized for their strong tradition of producing very competitive wrestlers and wrestling teams over their years in the IHSAA circuit. Despite the size of the schools enrollment and the so called Class distinction established by the IHSAA in many sports based on size, Milan has earned the respect of even the largest as well.
Both former MHS head wrestling coach and wrestling orgainizer for the Milan Indians Roy Adams and current head wrestling coach Bob Riley have given lead to some very strong contenders, but to date, never a State Champion.
They welcome Cavins' dedication and enthusiasm.
As a Milan freshman, Cavins will now have the opportunity to make his hopes reality, with a continued dedicated effort he has proven to have within himself.
Cavins' promising path of wrestling battles in each of the styles of Folkstyle, Freestyle and Roman Greco during his 2012 season, have included the following:
His record for the entire year of Milan Middle School Wrestling included a perfect season for school with an 18-0 record.
In AAU wrestling, he was 91-10 (including Folkstyle, Freestyle and Greco Roman matches).
For Folk style Cavins was 56-4, Freestyle 19-2 and Greco Roman 16-4.
In March, Cavins fell to second place after losing 10-12 in overtime at the Folkstyle State Championship wrestling Schoolboy 175# Class.
On April 21, Jake participated in the Tournament of Champions in Columbus, Ohio where he placed third out of 18 wrestlers with a record of 6-1.
The Tournament of Champions is the world's largest One Day Wrestling Tournament hosting approximately 4,000 kids this year.
During the Indiana USAW State Championship for Freestyle, held the first weekend in May in Avon, Cavins placed first.
The second weekend of May was the Greco Roman State Championship in Franklin, where Jake again placed first.
Wrestling competition then found the Cavinses traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan, on May 18-20 for Central Regionals, where once again Jake captured first place in both styles.
The first week of June, Jake was on Team Indiana for Greco and Freestyle Teams. (After qualifying for the second year in a row), He won first place at state for Greco and Freestyle.
Jake proceeded as he wrestled at the National Schoolboy Duals held in Indianapolis.
There he faced qualifying teams from all across the United States. Team Indiana Greco placed 6th out of the 28 in contention and Team Indiana Freestyle wrestled to a 10th place finish among 30 teams competing.
Most recently, Cavins won the USAW National Freestyle 190# Schoolboy Championship and the USAW National Greco Roman 190# Schoolboy Championship, held in Orem, Utah from June 25-26.
He finished his season with 3 pins and 3 tech falls while also ending his Freestyle Championship match with a 5 point throw, to end the period and tech fall his opponent. After winning both these competitions, he became an official member of Team USA Wrestling.
Another of the big highlights of the trip home from Utah was the families visiting of the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where they took a tour of the campus. While there, they were able to watch some of the olympic wrestlers practice as they prepare for London.
Obviously, the positive production of young Cavins not only takes a strong initiative on his part to perform, but also on his family to provide him these opportun ities. Nice Job Guys!