J Jaggers

Ohio State Update 3.21.2008

J Jaggers (Northfield, OH, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Chanel State Champion)
Ohio State Junior

J Jaggers placed 3rd in the 2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships.
Named Big Ten Wrestler of the week
NCAA Division I 141 lbs. Champion

Congradulations to J. Jaggers for winning the NCAA Division I championships

Jaggers wins NCAA national wrestling title
March 27, 2008

Sports Editor

Throughout his high school career, J. Jaggers was an unstoppable force for the St. Peter Chanel wrestling squad. The Northfield Village native won four state titles and often looked invincible.

However, Jaggers' college career at Ohio State University had been filled with more pain than glory. Injuries plagued Jaggers during his first three seasons, forcing him to redshirt his freshman season and forcing him to miss the NCAA Tournament after he qualified for it his second year.

This year, however, Jaggers finally got back his accustomed place -- on top the podium.

Jaggers won the NCAA Division title at 141 pounds March 22 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. He defeated top-seeded Chad Mendes of Cal Poly 5-2 to win the title. It was the second straight year Jaggers was named All-American, after he finished seventh at last year's championships. He finished the season with a record of 25-6.

"I definitely had to cross some hurdles to get here," Jaggers said. "Nobody has a free walk to the finals. The fact I had those two big injuries my first two years just makes it all the more sweeter that I got it done."

Jaggers said it took awhile for him to realize the magnitude of the win.

"[Sunday] when I sat down and I got my phone turned back on, that's when it hit me," Jaggers said. "From all the messages I got, I just realized how many people were behind me. It meant a lot to a lot of people."

Now a redshirt junior, Jaggers helped Ohio State take second place in the Division I team race with 79 points, giving the Buckeyes their best ever finish at nationals. Iowa won its 21st national title with 117.5 points.

According to St. Peter Chanel wrestling coach Graham Coghill, Jaggers is the first NCAA Division I champion ever to come out of Chanel.

"I knew he had probably the best shot of anybody to win a national title," Coghill said. "I'm just so happy for him because of all the injuries. He's overcome a lot."

Jaggers came into the tournament seeded sixth after taking third place at 141 at the Big Ten Championships the previous week.

"I definitely wanted to win the Big Ten title first," Jaggers said. "After I wrestled all the way back to third, I realized if you wrestle that weight class 10 different times, you could have 10 different champions."

At nationals, Jaggers beat Nexi Delgado of UC-Davis 13-10 and beat Pittsburgh's Drew Headlee 7-2 on March 20, then ran into third-seed Kellen Russell of Michigan, the Big Ten champion. Jaggers was able to squeeze out a 5-3 win to reach the semifinal.

In the semifinal, Jaggers faced second-seeded Charles Griffin of Hofstra. It was another close one, but Jaggers pulled out an 11-9 win to reach the final.

Jaggers faced Mendes in the finals March 22, which were broadcast live on ESPN. Mendes came into the finals undefeated at 30-0.

"He's a really strong guy," Jaggers said of Mendes. "I think he wanted to hit his cement mixer. He's pinned so many good guys with that move. When I didn't give him one position to hit it, it kind of threw off his strategy. It was a hand fight for most of the match."

After a scoreless period, Jaggers took the down position to start the second period and escaped in 11 seconds. The rest of the second period was a defensive battle, until Mendes got into a deep double-leg shot with near the end of the period. Jaggers was able to get to his side and hold on to not allow the takedown as time expired.

Mendes took down to start the third period and was able to escape.

With about 45 seconds remaining, Jaggers took command.

"He shot a double on me," Jaggers said. "I just needed him to switch to a single, because I'm pretty good at sitting my hips and getting around the corner. Once he switched his lock to a single, I said 'Thank You,' and sat around him. Once I threatened his back, he bailed out. I was to get a quick two count as well."

The takedown and two-point nearfall gave Jaggers a commanding 5-1 lead.

With time winding down, Mendes attempted to roll through from the bottom and both men ended up holding onto a leg. During the scramble, Jaggers' leg was wrenched hard and the referee called for injury time with 26 seconds left. Jaggers could be heard screaming "He broke my ankle!" as trainers attended to him.

"The first thing I thought was 'Oh no, not his knee again,'" Coghill said.

"It was bent in a weird way," Jaggers said. "He was a little desperate. My foot did like a 90-degree turn from my ankle and my heel was touching my shin. I knew that there was only 25 seconds left. I just told myself 'This is something you've got to suck up. You won't feel it in 26 seconds when you're national champ.'"

Jaggers was able to compose himself before injury time expired, though he was limping heavily. Jaggers chose to release Mendes for the escape to make it 5-2. Jaggers spent the final 13 seconds of the match backing up, but Mendes couldn't find the takedown as time expired.

Jaggers said March 24 a visit to the doctor revealed no breaks but several torn ligaments. He said he was going to rest and enjoy the win for now before getting back to his athletic endeavors.

"In two weeks, my intramural softball team gets back on the diamond," Jaggers said, with a laugh. "We're going to rehab this and get back in place for the team."

As for the distant future, Jaggers said he has no doubt how long he'll be involved in wrestling.

"Probably the rest of my life, either in coaching or training for international competition," Jaggers said. "I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet."

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113

NCAA Finals
March 20-22, 2008

Scottrade Center
St. Louis, Missouri
Hosts: St. Louis Sports Commission and the University of Missouri
Host Site: J Jaggers Bracket

Update 3.21.2008 Jaggers

ST. LOUIS – J Jaggers and Mike Pucillo, members of the Ohio State wrestling team, were crowned 2008 NCAA National Champions to give the Buckeyes their first individual national championship since 2004. Senior heavyweight J.D. Bergman was an NCAA runner-up and sophomore Lance Palmer finished eighth, giving the Buckeyes four All-Americans for the second-consecutive year. As a team, Ohio State finished second with 79 points. The second-place finish is the best standing for the Buckeyes in program history. Ohio State’s previous best was third (tie) in 2004.

The Buckeyes never have had three finalists in the NCAA championships. In 1993, the Scarlet and Gray advanced two wrestlers to the finals in 1993 national champion and two-time All-American Rex Holman and two-time national champion and three-time All-American Kevin Randleman. Ohio State and Iowa were the only programs in the 2008 edition of the championships to qualify three finalists.

Jaggers, a redshirt-junior, became the first 2008 champion for the Buckeyes, defeating No. 1-seed Chad Mendes of Cal Poly, 5-2, at 141 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Jaggers scored an escape early in the second to take a slim 1-0 lead. However, Mendes responded with an escape of his own in the final period to tie the score at 1-1, but Jaggers countered with a takedown with 45 seconds left and followed with a two-point nearfall at the 37-second mark to go up 5-1. Jaggers was forced to take an injury timeout with just 16 seconds remaining after suffering a leg injury and despite giving up an escape to Mendes, held on for the victory.

At 184 pounds, Pucillo, redshirt-sophomore, clinched the second-place team finish for the Buckeyes when he downed No. 1-seed Jake Varner of Iowa State on a tiebreaking riding time advantage of six seconds. In the two wrestlers’ first-ever collegiate meeting, they went scoreless after the first period. After taking the down position, Pucillo scored an escape early in the second stanza, but Varner, who was the 2007 runner-up, evened the score on an escape of his own in the third period. With the score knotted at one apiece, Pucillo and Varner went into two sudden victories and tiebreaking sessions before Pucillo won on the riding time.

In his third matchup against Northwestern’s No. 1-seed Dustin Fox, Bergman dropped a heartbreaking 4-2 decision in the final. All three of Bergman’s losses this season have come from Fox. With the scored tied, 1-1, at the end of the third period, the match was forced into overtime. Neither wrestler could score in the sudden victory period, but each grappler tacked on an escape in both 30-second tiebreakers. It was in the second sudden victory Fox scored a takedown to win his second-consecutive national championship.

At 149 pounds, Lance Palmer became a two-time All-American Saturday. In the seventh-place matchup, Palmer dropped a 3-2 decision to No.2-seed Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota.

  2008 NCAA Wrestling Tournament

Wt141

Championship Finals
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio State) DEC #1 Chad Mendes (Cal Poly) PAC-10 D 5-2

Championship Semi-Finals
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio State) DEC #2 Charles Griffin (Hofstra) Colonial D 11-9

Championship Quarter Finals
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio State) DEC #3 Kellen Russell (Michigan) Big Ten D 5-3

Championship Second Round
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio St) Big Ten DEC Drew Headlee (Pittsburgh) EWL D 7-2

Championship First Round
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio St) Big Ten DEC Nexi Delgado (UC Davis) Pac-10 D 13-10

2008 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Team Standings

Plc Score School                     CH CO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 117.5 Iowa                           0 0 2 1 1 0 1 2 0 0
2   79.0 Ohio State University         0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
3   75.0 Penn State University          0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
4   74.0 Nebraska-Lincoln               0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1
5   72.0 Iowa State University          0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 1
     72.0 Oklahoma State University      0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0
7   69.0 Central Michigan University    0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
     69.0 Michigan                       0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0
9   67.0 Cornell University             0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0
10   61.5 Minnesota                      0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
11   48.5 Missouri                       0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
12   43.0 Indiana University             0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
13   41.0 Northwestern University        0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
14   40.5 Illinois                       0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
15   38.0 Hofstra University             0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
16   33.5 Pittsburgh                     0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17   31.0 Wisconsin                      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
18   30.5 Navy                           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1
19   29.0 Stanford University           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
20   27.0 Northern Iowa                  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
21   24.0 Edinboro University            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
     24.0 Maryland                       0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
23   22.0 American University            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
24   21.0 Boise State University         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
25   19.0 North Carolina State           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
26   18.0 Bloomsburg University          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
     18.0 Cal Poly                       0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
28   15.5 Arizona State University       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
     15.5 Michigan State University      0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
30   14.5 Purdue University              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31   13.5 West Virginia University       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32   13.0 Army                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
33   11.0 Harvard University             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
34   10.5 Pennsylvania                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35   10.0 Northern Illinois University 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
     10.0 Old Dominion University       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
37    9.0 Tennessee - Chattanooga        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
38    8.5 Appalachian St.                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
39    8.0 Oklahoma                       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
40    7.0 Virginia                       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
41    5.5 Lehigh University              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      5.5 North Carolina-Greensboro      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      5.5 Rider University               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Congratulations to the Jaggers family. J has made it to the finals of the 2008 NCAA Division I championships.

J Jaggers 2008 Ohio State

Update 3.21.2008 Jaggers
ST. LOUIS – J.D. Bergman, J Jaggers and Mike Pucillo, members of the No. 9 Ohio State wrestling team, will contend for a spot in the NCAA championships finals when they compete in semifinal action Friday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The Buckeyes currently are in fourth place with 44.5 points after three sessions.

Semifinal action will begin at 7 p.m. ET. ESPNU will broadcast live coverage.

Reece Humphrey and Lance Palmer remain in contention in wrestleback action and will look to finish as high as third in their respective weight classes.

A place in the finals at 141 pounds is on the line for Jaggers after he advanced to the semifinals following a hard-fought 5-3 decision over No. 3-seed Kellen Russell of Michigan. In his second-consecutive win over Russell, the Northfield, Ohio, native held a slim 2-1 lead after the first period. In the lone scoring of the second period, Jaggers scored an escape to increase his advantage to 3-1. However, Russell, recorded two escapes in the final period in an attempt at a comeback, but Jaggers added a final takedown for the 5-3 victory. Prior to Friday, Jaggers beat Russell, 3-2, Feb. 10 in St. John Arena. Up next for Jaggers in the semifinals is No. 2-seed Charles Griffin of Hofstra.

2008 NCAA Wrestling Tournament - Finals on March 22, 2008

Wt141

Championship Finals
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio State) vs #1 Chad Mendes (Cal Poly) PAC-10

Championship Semi-Finals
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio State) DEC #2 Charles Griffin (Hofstra) Colonial 11-9

Championship Quarter Finals
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio State) DEC #3 Kellen Russell (Michigan) Big Ten D 5-3

Championship Second Round
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio St) Big Ten DEC Drew Headlee (Pittsburgh) EWL D 7-2

Championship First Round
#6 J Jaggers (Ohio St) Big Ten DEC Nexi Delgado (UC Davis) Pac-10 D 13-10

2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships
* J Jaggers placed 3rd

Wt141

Championship First Round
7 #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) DEC Scott Kelly (Indiana) D 4-1
8 #5 Garrett Scott (Penn State) WBF Matthew Redmond (Purdue) F 2:24
9 Jeff Wimberley (Michigan State) WBF #2 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) F 5:11

Championship Quarter-Finals
39 #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) DEC #8 Ryan Prater (Illinois) D 8-7
40 #4 Dan LeClere (Iowa) DEC #5 Garrett Scott (Penn State) D 2-1
41 #6 Manuel Rivera (Minnesota) DEC #3 J Jaggers (Ohio State) D 6-2
42 #7 Keith Sulzer (Northwestern) DEC Jeff Wimberley (Michigan State) M 8-0

Wrestleback Second Round
77 Jeff Wimberley (Michigan State) DEC Scott Kelly (Indiana) D 9-6
78 #3 J Jaggers (Ohio State) DEC Matthew Redmond (Purdue) M 14-1
79 #2 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) WBF #8 Ryan Prater (Illinois) F 4:10

Championship Semi-Finals
109 #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) DEC #4 Dan LeClere (Iowa) D 6-4;SV1
110 #6 Manuel Rivera (Minnesota) DEC #7 Keith Sulzer (Northwestern) D 3-2

Wrestleback Quarter-Finals
111 #3 J Jaggers (Ohio State) WBTF Jeff Wimberley (Michigan State) T1.5 15-0; 5:22
112 #2 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) WBF #5 Garrett Scott (Penn State) F DEF

Wrestleback Semi-Finals
145 #3 J Jaggers (Ohio State) DEC #4 Dan LeClere (Iowa) D 6-3
146 #7 Keith Sulzer (Northwestern) WBF #2 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) F M FOR

Finals - First Place
177 #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) DEC #6 Manuel Rivera (Minnesota) D 3-2

Finals - Third Place
178 #3 J Jaggers (Ohio State) WBF #7 Keith Sulzer (Northwestern) F 2:41

J Jaggers named Big Ten Wrestler of the week

J Jaggers, a junior on the seventh-ranked Ohio State wrestling team, was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week the conference announced Wednesday.
J Jaggers OSU 2008 Big Ten Wrestler of the Week
This is Jaggers’ first-career weekly honor. A 2007 All-American at 141 pounds, Jaggers (16-5) lifted the Buckeyes to a 22-19 victory over No. 8 Penn State last Friday in St. John Arena. With the Buckeyes down three (19-16) with one bout remaining, Jaggers pinned fifth-ranked Jake Strayer in 3:25 to seal the win. Ohio State trailed throughout the evening, but took its first and only lead for the win after Jaggers’ pin. It was Jaggers’ second victory of the season over Strayer as he also defeated the Nittany Lion, 6-4, at the National Duals Jan. 13. Strayer was No. 2 in the nation at the time.

The win by Jaggers marked the sixth time this season he has beaten a Top 20 wrestler. Of his six wins over a ranked grappler, three have come via fall.