Following Jake - The Conclusion

Wednesday, April 1

7:00PM: Chatted with Jake and Dad. They had good flights from Dallas to Philadelphia and then to Virginia Beach. The hotel is older, but only a mile from the convention center and the balcony opens to the beach. They were in a hurry to get to the convention center to watch Jake's freshman teammate wrestle a match.

Thursday, April 2

11:30AM: Jake had weighed and was about 1.5 pounds over his weight. So, he was getting into sweats and going to run on the beach to drop some poundage. Official weigh-in was from 2-5. It is about 60 degrees and overcast, but the fog was burning off. When I left them, they were trying to figure out how to get the key out of the door (or something like that) of the their fancy 2009 Dodge Charger rental car. They didn't make it to see Jake's teammate wrestle last night, but he won and is advancing into the semi-finals.

5:15PM: I got an IM from Dad and he said Jake made weight and they ate shrimp and prime rib for dinner.

6:30PM: They were checking out a beach shop, surfboards and such. Wrestling starts tomorrow at 10AM.

Friday, April 3

8:45AM: Talked to Dad and Jake was warming up to start wrestling and 9AM our time. He is wrestling Nadjitade Badje from Maryland for his first bout (#242). But, there are 30 mats going at the same time, so Jake should wrestle soon. You can click here to see the brackets for 171 pounds. It's probably a good thing I'm not there because I would be SO stressed about now!

12:30PM: HE WON! Match #1 of Jake's Domination on the Beach plan is complete. The score was 9-6 and Jake said the dude was the strongest guy he's ever wrestled. His opponent is a state champ in Maryland with a 39-0 record this year. Jake now advances and wrestles bout #477. The bracket doesn't show who his next opponent (either from Rhode Island or New Hampshire) will be. If he wins his next one, he's done for the day and can rest. I hope you all enjoy my play-by-play of the tournament...Avery and I were at the library when we got the news so I'm borrowing their computer. Stay tuned for more!

3:30PM: Well BOO. Unfortunately, he lost match #2. The dude just came out with an awesome move and got him. He is still in the running for 3rd place and is done for the day. The goal of course is to dominate everyone, but being in the top 8 gives you All-American status. If you don't win, this is a nice alternative!

Saturday, April 4

2:00PM: BOO again. Jake lost his third and final match of the tournament by one point to a kid from Oklahoma. This is a "two and out" tournament, so two losses means he didn't advance. Nonetheless, it has been a great accomplishment to get there and compete.

6:00PM: Talked to Jake and they were in good spirits and eating at Fuddrucker's

Sunday, April 5

8:30AM: The lazy bums were still hanging out in bed.

9:30AM: Dad called me back to tell me that while he was on the balcony drinking some coffee, he saw several dolphins eating breakfast. He got some video too. I was jealous....wind was crappy here today.