Jirele wins coveted wrestling triple crown
Owatonna youth wrestler Nash Jirele joined some elite company last month when the 10-year-old athlete earned his first triple crown by winning the Minnesota State Freestyle, Folkstyle and Greco-Roman Championships.
The Owatonna Wrestling Academy athlete is coached by his father, Jeremy, and joined local standouts Peyton Robb and Kaden Lindquist in being one of the few Huskies to ever achieve the feat.
“I was like, ‘Let’s go!’ I was smiling and super happy, just jumping around and going crazy,” said Jirele after winning his final title match to earn the triple crown.
According to Jeremy Jirele, Nash’ feat was the result of hard work paying off.
“The thing about today’s world is kids kind of want those instant results. Not every kid wants to put in the work and chase those tough matchups. We’ve chased some tough opponents all around the state this year, and he’s won almost every match,” he said.
Making the win all the more impressive is Jirele’s spring schedule.
Being a youth athlete, Jirele is currently taking part in lacrosse and has not chosen to specialize in any particular sport.
He trains at the Owatonna Wrestling Academy, however, his practices only come once a week in the spring.
“He plays lacrosse, so we haven’t been able to get into many freestyle or Greco-Roman tournaments. The state tournament was his second freestyle tournament and his third Greco-Roman,” said Jeremy Jirele.
Despite limited weekly training and exposure to certain disciplines, Jirele was the best wrestler on the mats at every tournament – and it wasn’t close.
The 59-pound budding star allowed just one point across all three tournaments in double-digit match appearances.
On top of that, the only point he did allow wasn’t even an offensive score, but rather a penalty point for clasping.
In folkstyle, Jirele won every match by major decision to cement himself as champion.
Despite the discipline being the one he has trained the most, it was actually his lowest scoring outing.
In both freestyle and Greco-Roman, Jirele won every match by fall or technical fall with no opponents making it out of the first period.
His major performances have also earned himself the right to represent his home state.
“I’ll be wrestling in Nebraska for Team Minnesota in June,” said Jirele.
It appears Owatonna’s next wrestling star is just a few years away from a potential breakout Huskies career.
However, for the meantime, Jirele is focused on the immediate future.
“I want some wins in Nebraska and then I want to get another triple crown,” he said.
