Wrestling became irresistible for Jordan Berezay

Turns out Jordan Berezay was ready to commit after all.

The East Valley senior was a middle school wrestling champion, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready for the kind of dedication it took to duplicate his success at the high school level.

“It’s one thing to wrestle in middle school and be successful,” he said. “But if you’re going to wrestle in high school, you’re talking about a whole new level of dedication and commitment.”

So Berezay stayed away from the sport as a freshman and again as a sophomore. Fortunately for the Knights, his dedication to staying away faltered.

“Last year I just couldn’t stay away anymore, and I turned out,” he said. “It was tough coming back. The guys that were ahead of me, Dan Michalski and Jimmy Martin, were tough on me. But they pushed me and they made me a better wrestler.”

On most days, by the time he’s done with practice, Berezay tips the scale somewhere between 180 and 185 pounds. But because of the strength of the East Valley lineup, he competes at 215 pounds – giving up as many as 35 pounds to opponents.

“He’s a natural 189-pounder, but we have Clete, there,” East Valley coach Craig Hanson said, referring to his Tri-State champion son. “Jordan will wrestle at 215 for us for the dual meet season and for the postseason as well. His style is better suited to wrestle at 215 – the only guys who give him any trouble are the really tall ones.”

Berezay said there are definite advantages to wrestling at 215 pounds. For one, he said, he doesn’t have to worry about cutting weight before a match or tournament and he can enjoy all the tasty treats that go with the holidays without regret.

“I like that part,” he said. “I can load up on carbs and have lots of energy going in. I have teammates who have to watch what they eat before a match. So, of course, I make sure I tell them all the things I eat. That ticks them off.”

Having Berezay able to make a lighter weight does come in handy when Knights need to do a little shuffling of their lineup.

Against Central Valley in a key Greater Spokane League showdown, Hanson put Berezay in at 189 to battle junior Andy Wickstrom and earn a 7-4 decision, leaving Clete Hanson to face Jake Neumann at 215 pounds, where he won in overtime, 4-2.

“That was actually a lot of fun,” Berezay said. “We went out and were introduced at our normal weights. Then, when they called the 189-pound match, I went trotting out. My own parents didn’t expect me to come out for that match, and the look on the other kid’s face was priceless. He didn’t know what was going on.”

The switcheroo enabled the Knights to score a one-point victory, 29-28, allowing the team to romp through the 2007 portion of the GSL schedule undefeated.

“Someone told me we were in the driver’s seat now,” Craig Hanson said. “If we are, it’s an awfully small car. We still have some big matches ahead of us. We come back after the break and wrestle Mead and that’s going to be a really big match.”

Thus far, Berezay is undefeated in league matches – pinning North Central’s Jeremy Voelker in just 70 seconds in the final league match of 2007. He added a good deal of prestige to his tournament résumé, as well, placing seventh at Tri-State to complete a run of three consecutive placers.

Junior Dakota Lawson placed fifth at 171, Clete Hanson won at 189 and Berezay at 215.

“I had no expectations going in,” he said. “I really just expected to go two-and-out. But I got off to a good start and by the time I was done, I had so much confidence. Even guys that I lost to – I think I can beat them in a rematch.”

Berezay beat Sedro-Woolley’s Colby Grobschmit in his opening match, then pinned fifth-place finisher Spencer Miles of Lewiston. The senior got caught in his quarterfinal match and was pinned by tournament runner-up Dustin Baldwin of Lakeside. He came back strong, however, eventually scoring an 11-2 victory over league-rival John Lampert of Gonzaga Prep in his trophy match.

“I’ve done well in tournaments before, usually in the top two or three,” he said. “So when I placed seventh at Tri-State, I wasn’t all that impressed and didn’t think it was all that big of a deal. But, to be honest, more people have been impressed by that than anything else I’ve done.

“When I stopped and thought about it, I can see why. Tri-State isn’t like any other tournament – the competition is so much tougher. If I can do well there, I have a good shot at placing at state.”

Hanson agrees.

“We look at him, and we see a kid who didn’t make it out of the subregional a year ago who can easily place at state this year,” he said. “He’s a kid who works hard and learns what we teach him. He knows what he has to do, and he does it.”

It helps to have a two-time state placer as a practice partner.

“We have him wrestling against Clete a lot in practice, because they push each other, and we have him wrestle (heavyweight) Alaric Parks,” Hanson said. “He’s just a great program kid who does whatever you ask him to do.”