WHO’S NEXT? USAW STAR OF THE FUTURE Marnin making mark
Wrestler from Iowa high school powerhouse Southeast Polk captured USA Wrestling Cadet Triple Crown in 2013
By Matt Levins Jake Marnin had one of the best seats in the house for last
year’s Iowa high school state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. As a member of the Southeast Polk High School wrestling
team, Marnin was in the ground-level bleachers with the rest of the wrestlers. Yet it was all Marnin could do to hold back the tears welling
up in his eyes. Marnin, then a sophomore, was stuck behind Jacob Scanlan
at heavyweight. So while his teammates were on the mat help- ing the Rams win the first state wrestling team championship in school history, all Marnin could do was watch and wonder — and seethe. Marnin vowed he would never again be left on the sideline as
a spectator. Driven by the state tournament experience, Marnin accom-
plished a rare feat last spring and summer. Marnin went on to capture the prestigious USA Wrestling Triple Crown, winning the Cadet Folkstyle Nationals title at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa in April, then winning Cadet Greco-Roman and Cadet Freestyle Nationals at Fargo, N.D. in July. It was a far cry from sitting in the stands watching. This time,
Marnin was the center of attention. “I didn’t really believe it until after I had accomplished it. I got
a lot of congratulations from a lot of people who read about it and saw it. I still can’t believe it happened,” Marnin said of win- ning the rare Triple Crown. “It was tough not being in the varsity lineup last year, but I knew I would eventually get my shot if I just stuck with it. I was happy for all my teammates who made it to state last year, but it was pretty crushing not to be out there wrestling. That really motivated me for the spring and summer.” Marnin, who started wrestling when he was in preschool at
North Hoover, found himself behind Jacob Scanlan at the heavyweight spot at Southeast Polk the last two seasons. While Scanlan was piling up wins in duals and tournaments, Marnin was busy working to make himself better. “Jake (Marnin) was super motivated last year. He wrestled at
state duals and probably wrestled 24 or 25 varsity matches last year while Scanlan was injured. He filled in very well,” Southeast Polk coach Jason Christenson said. “Those two real- ly never wrestled together that much in practice, but when they had challenge matches, they were always close, always one point or overtime. We knew (Marnin) was right there. We knew he was going to be able to contribute. We just didn’t realize he was going to be in the spotlight this quick.” Marnin made easy work of the Cadet Folkstyle Nationals field,
30 USA Wrestler
Jacob Marnin captured Cadet Nationals titles in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman in 2013. John Sachs photo.
pinning all four of his opponents in a combined 6 minutes, 28 seconds. He pinned Dustin Brown of West Lyon in the champi- onship match. Marnin knew the competition was going to be a lot tougher at
Fargo, and he was correct. “I knew I would see a lot more guys that I didn’t see at Folkstyle,” Marnin said. “Our camp in Iowa really helped me get ready for Fargo. It’s tough going from style to style. After folk- style was over, I had to get ready for Greco. Then after Greco I had to get in the freestyle mindset.” Marnin was the only Iowan to win a Cadet Greco-Roman championship this year. Marnin went 7-0 in Greco-Roman with three falls and four technical falls in a display of total domina- tion. He beat Antonio James of Illinois 7-0 in the final.
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