EDITOR’S NOTE: The original printing of this story repeated a quote. This has since been fixed and is not reflected in the current version of the article.

Junior and varsity wrestling captain Jackson Herman captured his 100th win at Allen, Texas. He won the match through a pin (his preferred way to victory), where the opponent is flat on their shoulders and the referee calls the match.

“I just was going to wrestle…the way that I’ve wrestled my whole life,” Herman said. “Just focus on taking my shots and my attacks and wrestling the whole 6 minutes.”

Normally, Herman wrestles aggressively and fast in his matches. This contest was no different. 

“I have very quick attacks,” he said. “I just stay on you, stay aggressive and try to do what’s best to get the win.“

Herman was aware this match could’ve been his 100th win prior to the match. His family and friends were there to cheer him on. Although he felt some pressure, he mostly felt excited to capture the victory and was confident in his wrestling skills to do so, he said.

“I definitely felt pressure,” Herman said, “but I’ve been in a lot of moments like this at the state tournament and nationals. I felt the pressure before, so I was ready and I was locked in on getting the win and had to focus on the match more than it’s my hundredth win.”

Herman received much support from family and friends after his win. 

“There’s been a lot of support coming from the school community,” he said. “My football coaches that I’ve had my freshman year, obviously my wrestling friends, my teammates, and my family. It’s just been great.”

The Road to 100 (And Beyond)

Herman’s dad was a wrestler in college, and he encouraged Jackson to start wrestling in middle school. He didn’t take the sport seriously at first, he said.

“My dad said I had to wrestle for self-defense purposes throughout middle school,” he said. “But then when I moved from Chicago, Illinois to [Katy] my freshman year, I started taking it more seriously because once you get to high school, the competition it’s a lot harder.”

Herman is determined to wrestle beyond high school.

 “I still have a year and a half left in my [high school] career, so there’s still stuff to work on and build on,” Herman said. “I want to wrestle after high school and hopefully at a division one school, or at any college.”

Herman thanked his family, coaches, and God for this accomplishment. He also had a word of advice for those looking to achieve their goal.

“Don’t just show up and go through the motions if you’re trying to get to a goal,” Herman said. “You have to be devoted to the process of reaching the goal and you really have to love it. I love coming and practicing and I love working hard with my teammates, so that’s really what has made me excel in the sport.”