Jake Wentzel reached the pinnacle of PIAA wrestling in March when he joined with teammate Greg Bulsak to become the first South Park wrestlers to win a state title.
The obvious goal for both is to repeat as WPIAL and PIAA champions, but Wentzel wants to take it one step further.
"My goal for the upcoming season is to go undefeated," Wentzel said. "I came close last year."
Wentzel completed his junior year with a 40-1 record. His only loss came in the finals of the Powerade Christmas Tournament, when he dropped a 5-3 decision to Central Catholic's Vincenzo Joseph, a Penn State recruit who went on to win a second PIAA Class AAA title.
"I don't like to lose," said Wentzel, who has a 114-15 career record. "The perfect way to end my career would be an undefeated season."
Twelve of Wentzel's 15 career losses came during his freshman season. He made the first of three PIAA appearances after placing fifth in the WPIAL and fourth in the Southwest Region at 132 pounds, then finished eighth at Hershey.
Wentzel lost only three times over the past two seasons, as he boasts an 80-3 record. Two of the losses were to Joseph. The other loss was to Southern Columbia's Kent Lane in the 2014 PIAA semifinals.
"Jake has reached the pinnacle of wrestling in Pennsylvania, but he can't rest on his laurels," South Park coach Walt Karrenbauer said. "He realizes that you have to keep working hard to stay on top."
Wentzel and Bulsak, who has a 104-17 career mark, are among four South Park wrestlers who have reached the 100-win plateau. David Ivashchenko set the school record in 2008 when he finished with a 130-34 record. His younger brother Vitaly Ivashchenko (108-37) is the only other Eagle who resides in the WPIAL Century Club.
"If he stays healthy, Jake should have no problem passing David and becoming South Park's career win leader," Karrenbauer said.
Wentzel has been very busy since the high school season ended in March.
"I competed at Flonationals right after the season ended and placed second," said Wentzel, who lost to Missouri's Connor Flynn in the title match. "It was pretty humbling."
Wentzel also attended two national dual tournaments as a member of the Keystone Brawlers. The first of those tournaments was the NHSCA National Duals, which were held in May at Virginia Beach.
Two weeks ago, Wentzel made his second trip to Kissimmee, Fla., to compete in the AAU Scholastic National Duals, which were held June 27-July 2. The tournament, more commonly referred to as the Disney Duals, was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort.
"We placed eighth in our bracket [with an 8-2 team record]," Wentzel said. "I had a 9-1 record."
Wentzel committed to Pitt the first day of the 2014-15 season.
"I've been working out at Pitt for years," Wentzel said. "So choosing Pitt was an easy decision."
Wentzel will enter one more tournament before the high school season begins.
"I will be going back to North Carolina for the Super 32 tournament again in November," Wentzel said. "This will be my third time. Two years ago, I fell one win short of placing. Last year, I finished third. This year, I want to win."
First Published: July 24, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
