<p>Jalen Ward will be a wrestling novice compared to many of his opponents this season, having first tried out for the sport as a seventh-grader.</p>
<p>The Franklin junior hasn’t let that slow him down, as evidenced by his advancing to the Evansville Semistate last season in the 170-pound weight class before losing to eventual state champion Nick South of Columbus East.</p>
<p>Ward, who sports a 3-0 record entering tonight’s dual match at Mooresville, remembers his introduction to cradle holds and perspiration-filled practice sessions as if it were yesterday.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]
<p>“I played football, and then my friend, Tyler Fuqua, was like, ‘Hey, come out for wrestling,’ and I tried it,” Ward said. “There are some kids I know who have been doing it since elementary school, but I think it’s just being a good athlete and that I work hard.”</p>
<p>Ward shouldn’t lack confidence, based on the combination of last season’s wrestling success and the fact he rushed for 1,298 yards and 15 touchdowns in helping lead the Grizzly Cubs football team to an 8-3 mark — its best in nearly four decades — during the fall.</p>
<p>He said there are challenges transitioning from one sport to the other, particularly while dealing with weight.</p>
<p>As a freshman, Ward competed at 138 pounds, placing fifth at the Mooresville Sectional and finishing with a record of 18-19. He returned to the Pioneers’ gymnasium last season and captured his first sectional title with a 25-7 decision over Greenwood’s Jake Stover in the title match.</p>
<p>Ward nearly repeated the feat the following week at regional, but lost by a point, 3-2, in the championship match. He won his opening-round match at semistate before the loss to South, making his final record 23-15. There is a chance Ward wrestles some at 182 pounds this season, though he is likely to be at 170 for the postseason.</p>
<p>“I’ll probably stay at 170, but we’ll see what it looks like toward tournament time,” he said. “With wrestling, it’s just you and your opponent. Everything is on you, so I like that part. I just take stuff how it comes and just keep on moving. I do what I can do.”</p>
<p>Ward is quick to dismiss any comparisons between takedowns and touchdowns. Nonetheless, the way he approaches both football and wrestling are similar in terms of patience. Football requires waiting for blocks to create running lanes; on the wrestling mat, Ward remains even-keel, which first-year Franklin coach Jim Tonte believes is a benefit.</p>
<p>“Jalen doesn’t get shook up in a match. He’s just one of those guys that the moment doesn’t seem to get him out of his state of mind,” Tonte said. “Even when there’s a little pressure on him, it doesn’t faze him. That’s going to help Jalen in the long run.</p>
<p>“We still have some technique things we need to sew up. He’s so athletic that he allows himself to get out of position sometimes because he recovers well. He’ll just kind of go with the flow in a scramble believing he’s going to end up in the right spot.”</p>
