New priorities, but old goal

Ten years ago this week, Jared Lawrence put the finishing touches on a prep wrestling career at Sandpoint High School that still ranks second to none in Idaho.

Lawrence captured a fourth straight state championship, culminating with a 133-0 record. He’s also the only four-time champ in the history of the prestigious Tri-State tournament.

Ten years later, Lawrence finally sees an end in sight to competitive wrestling. But not before a second attempt at making the U.S. team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

It’s Beijing or bust. He just hopes his body holds up and doesn’t bust first.

“I have a couple of herniated discs and a torn tendon in my shoulder,” the University of Minnesota graduate said in a telephone interview. “My body is getting old. The sport has done damage.”

He postponed surgery on his shoulder because it would require a six-month recovery. He couldn’t afford to fall behind in preparation for the U.S. Open in late April and the U.S. Olympic Trials, which will be held June 12-15 in Las Vegas.

He occasionally has to have an epidural or cortisone shot to minimize the pain.

Lawrence, 27, who finished second in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials and was an Olympic alternate, is still young enough to continue wrestling beyond 2008 and consider a run at the 2012 Olympics. But Lawrence, who will celebrate his second wedding anniversary next month and has his first child on the way, says it’s too much time to dedicate to the sport with a young family.

“A lot of guys at my weight are 32 years old with families and kids,” said Lawrence, who lives just outside Minneapolis. “This is my last shot. I’m ready to move on with my life. It’ll be nice to enjoy life and raise my family.

“When I’m competing, I’m very selfish. You have to be when you’re training six hours a day. I try not to be that way, but you have to be if you’re going to compete. Your priorities have to be strict to make it happen.”

Lawrence married Allyson Brodie, a soccer player from Michigan who he met in college. She’s a kindergarten teacher and has been what Jared calls the “real bread winner” the last two years.

An ultrasound shows the Lawrences will have a girl in about five weeks. But Jared isn’t convinced and he’s holding out hope that his first wrestler is on the way.

“Supposedly it’s a girl, but they weren’t 100 percent sure,” Lawrence said. “We didn’t get a definitive answer. I’m hoping it’s still a boy. Every guy wants a boy. But I’ll take a healthy baby anyway I can get it.”

Lawrence, who graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average at Sandpoint, earned a degree in business and marketing at Minnesota. He was a four-time All-American, winning an NCAA championship at 149 pounds as a junior and finishing runner-up as a senior.

He is a graduate assistant for the Gophers, and that allows him to do most of his workouts at the school. He has started a wrestling school for youth, and it’s a business he wants to pursue for at least two to three years after he’s done wrestling.

“I want to see if I can make it work,” Lawrence said. “I’m good at it.”

Lawrence surprised in 2004 when he finished second at the U.S. Olympic team trials in freestyle so quickly out of college. He lost to Jamill Kelly, who went on to take silver and has since retired.

Soon thereafter, Lawrence became No. 1 ranked at 66 kilograms (145.5 pounds) where he stayed for two years. But he has slowly fallen down the rankings the past two years. In 2006, he was ranked second and was third most of 2007. But a poor showing at the U.S. World Team championships last summer (sixth) saw Lawrence slide to eighth.

His weight class is deep. Six of the top eight are former NCAA champions, and Lawrence has beaten most of them. In fact, he is 5-1 all-time against Doug Schwab of Iowa City, Iowa, who is currently the No. 1.

“He (Schwab) beat me at the World trials last summer and I hadn’t lost to him since 2005,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence has split matches with No. 2 Jared Fryar and No. 3 Chris Bono and has never lost to No. 4 Zack Esposito.

So Lawrence knows he will be in the mix for the berth on the U.S. Olympic team.

“I can get to the Olympics,” Lawrence said. “I just have to make sure I peak at the right time.”