20 QUESTIONS WITH... Jon Reader Jon Reader is one of the top freestyle wrestlers in the United States.
Reader captured an NCAA title for Iowa State in 2011 and is now excelling in freestyle wrestling at 84 kg/185 lbs. Reader, 25, had a strong season in 2013. He won the Dave Schultz Memorial and Dan Kolov International titles before plac- ing third at the U.S. Open. A past World University Team member for the U.S., Reader is now a resident-athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Reader, from Davison, Mich., was a three-time Michigan state champion in high school. He went 60-0 as a senior with 56 pins. Reader took time out of his busy schedule to talk recently with USA Wrestler:
1. Favorite movie? Bourne movies. Gladiator. 2. Favorite TV show? Sons of Anarchy.
3. What kind of music do you listen to before you com- pete?
I like to listen to Eminem or Tupac before I wrestle. 4. Favorite food when not watching your weight? Lasagna and pizza.
5. Favorite sport other than wrestling? Hockey
6. Favorite athlete to watch in another sport? Vikings RB Adrian Peterson. Love how hard he plays. 7. Favorite wrestler and why? Kevin Jackson and Kenny Monday. Two guys I grew up idoliz- ing. Complete studs! And awesome people off the mat as well. 8. Best piece of advice you've received? Life’s too short to be 99 percent of what you could have been. 9. What kind of advice would you give a younger wrestler who is just taking up the sport? I'm a firm believer in positive attitude attracts positive results. Keep a positive attitude always! Enjoy the process! 10. Best moment as a wrestler so far? Winning an NCAA title in 2011. 11. Name three people you would love to invite to dinner? The people I enjoy being around most are my family, so I would invite the whole Reader gang. 12. What is one thing you are afraid of? I'd have to say deep dark water with sharks! 13. How did you become involved in wrestling? My brother and I were not the most talented tee-ball players growing up. The coach would always stick my brother and I in the outfield. You stick two rowdy brothers out in the outfield with short attention spans and it was inevitable wrestling and fighting was going to break out. A local little kids wrestling coach saw how we were always wrestling and asked if we would like to try wrestling. Needless to say, I was hooked after my first practice! 14. What did it mean to win an NCAA title for Iowa State? It meant a lot. It's the goal of any athlete walking into a col-
lege. You are there to obviously get an education, but you are also there to WIN! Win titles. I feel like if that's not your goal then you are selling yourself short. 15. Any idea what you will do when you stop competing? I plan on getting back into college coaching.
NCAA champion Jon Reader has continued to excel on the Senior level in freestyle wrestling. Tony Rotundo photo.
16. What is the best part about training at the Olympic Training Center?
I absolutely love training at the OTC. We have a great group of guys training and living here. The culture inside the room is amazing! I love the structure of things here. And when I'm not in training you can find me in the mountains or fishing. I love it. 17. What are your goals for international wrestling? Olympic and World champion.
18. Coolest place you've traveled to and why? Coolest place I've traveled to would have to probably be Nice, France. It's not your typical overseas tour. It's a location a lot of tourists travel to. Right on the Mediterranean Sea. And close to Monaco.
19. What do you like about freestyle wrestling? I love wrestling in general. Freestyle wrestling is just the path I took. I love all styles of wrestling. 20. Funniest guy on the team and why? Hands down, Dustin Kilgore. There are not too many people that can make me laugh until I feel like my stomach is in knots. He's definitely one of them. We are roommates here at the OTC. He is an awesome guy!
21 USA Wrestler
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44