Back to Their Roots - catching up with Michigan legends at NCAAs

3/23/13

By Jeff Chaney

DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Jackson is
paying more attention to the state that helped shape his storied wrestling
career.

Just three weeks ago he could be seen in the stands at The Palace of
Auburn Hills at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals looking for
possible future Cyclones.

“Michigan is a good state, and I look forward to coming back,” said
Jackson, who is in his fourth year of coaching Iowa State. “Since I first
got here to Iowa State, I always try and get back to Michigan, because
there are definitely a lot of Division I wrestlers in that state. The quality
is there, and I feel with my roots and history in the state, I hope I can
stay in touch that way.”

Currently, Jackson has two Michigan wrestlers on his roster in
Napoleon’s Lelund Weatherspoon and Highland Park’s Quean Smith.

Jackson was a two-time state champion at Lansing Eastern High
School. After Lansing Eastern, he wrestled at LSU for three years,
before transferring to Iowa State, where he captained the 1987 National Championship team his senior year.

He was a runner-up his senior year at Iowa State with a 30-3-1 record.

After Iowa State, Jackson won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and also won two World Championship gold medals.

But to him, it all started at Michigan, and that’s why he pays attention.

“You look at a number of teams in that state, like St. Johns, Detroit Catholic Central, Hartland and Davison, and see how they wrestle at a national level,” Jackson said. There is a lot of quality in that state.”

Jackson had the privilege to coach one of Michigan’s finest to a 2011 National Championship.  Former Davison standout, Jon Reader, says that Jackson is one of the main reasons he is the wrestler he is.

And now the coach he wants to be.

“Coach Jackson is the best coach in the world,” Reader said. “He brings out the lion in me. Coach Jackson has mentored and taught me to help athletes be their best. He is a professional in the sport, he is a second dad to me.”

Jackson and Reader weren’t the only former state of Michigan standouts in this sport that were walking around the Wells Fargo Arena floor wearing coaches badges, passing along what they have learned in this great sport.

Former Williamston four-time state champion and Michigan State All American Nick Simmons is an assistant at Indiana University, Fulton-Middleton standout and Central Michigan National Champion Casey Cunningham is an assistant at Penn State, Lapeer West four-time state champion and University of Minnesota All American Roger Kish is the head coach at North Dakota State, Caro state champion and Central Michigan All American Wynn Michalak is at the University of Illinois. 

And like Jackson, all keep an eye on the state where they got started.

“Obviously, I think Michigan is a great state for wrestling, one of the top states in the country,” Simmons said. “And we are reaching out, we have (St. Johns state champion Brant Schaffer) coming down.”

Simmons says the state keeps getting deeper, too.

“Right now you have two of the top recruits in their weight class in (Fowlerville’s Adam Coon) and (St. Johns’ Ben Whitford), so that is two of 14, that’s not bad,” Simmons said. “Now, kids are training with the best kids, and that’s why you see the state getting better.”

Nick Hankins and Dan Cleypool contributed to this story



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