Davison grad goes All-American

By Michael Selecky
INDEX Sports Writer

AMES, IOWA — For some students, going away to college can be so incredibly overwhelming that even the most responsible of individuals can find themselves reaching out for a helping hand. On the flip side, there are also stories where success is an almost immediate outcome, regardless of the bumps and bruises one may encounter along the way.

For 2006 Davison grad and current redshirt freshman Jonathan Reader, since joining the wrestling program at Iowa State University (ISU), his achievements have been many and his shortcomings few. This was typified by the fact that he earned All-American status at 165 pounds by placing seventh at the season-ending National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Championships March 20-22 in St. Louis, MO.

In his initial season of collegiate competition, Reader came in at 30-9 overall, leading the team in bonus points scored with seven major decisions, four technical falls and five pins.

Results this year for Reader include besting Dan Clum of Wisconsin in 73 seconds on Jan. 18, on Dec. 9 the current Cyclone posted a 7-3 decision over Iowa’s Jake Kerr and on Nov. 8 he pinned Northern Illinois’ Bryan Deutsch in 4:42.

Reader also rebounded from a first-round Big 12 Championship loss to Oklahoma’s Max Dean to down the Sooner 6-2 for third-place honors, on Jan. 25 the former Cardinal opened league action with a 9-7 sudden death victory ovver Dean and at the NWCA/ Cliff Keen National Dulas competition Reader registered one of the fastest pins in ISU history with a 15 second stick of Dominic Marella.

For the 2007-08 season, the Iowa State wrestling team was ranked a season-high number one in the nation for the week of Dec. 9, eventually coming in fifth at the NCAA Championships. The squad also came in first at the Big 12 Tournament in Stillwater, OK, on March 8, taking four individual titles.

As a member of the Davison wrestling team under coaches Roy Hall and Kent Elliott, Reader was 234-6, winning three state titles from 2004-06 at 135 lbs, 152 lbs and 160 lbs, respectively. In his senior season, the former Cardinal went 60-0 with 56 pins, tied Michigan’s state record of consecutive pins with 54 and finished as team state champions all four years.

In 2006 Reader was also the Wade Schalles award winner, he took the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award for the Midwest Region, was the Greco-Roman and freestyle junior champion and was named the outstanding freestyle wrestler at the 2006 Junior Nationals. That year he was the NHSCA High School Senior Nationals runner-up.

Prior to that, Reader was a 2005 FILA Cadet National champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, earning the distinction of outstanding wrestler in the Greco-Roman division.

As a true freshman in 2007, the former Cardinal was redshirted from a squad that went 13-3 overall and placed second at the NCAA Championships. Highlights for ISU that year include winning the conference championships on March 3 in Columbia, MO.

Reader is just one of seven former Cardinals currently wrestling at the collegiate level. Other Davison grads grappling collegiately include Brent Metcalf, who went 35-1 for Iowa this year en-route to taking the NCAA title at 149 lbs.