Thomas Garvie
tgarvie@uwyo.edu
For every athlete the beginning of a new season is exciting, but no more for anyone than seniors—like Cowboy wrestling’s Jace Jensen.
“This is my last shot. I have worked throughout most of my life to wrestle and this is my final year to achieve my goals,” Jensen said.
Seniors like Jensen know that the coming season is likely the last opportunity they will have to participate in sports that have long been a main stay in their lives. For many this will also be the last opportunity to reach goals set as freshmen.
“I don’t feel a sense of urgency to fulfill my goals, I just feel more driven,“ Jensen said.
Jensen described his career thus far as up and down, understandably as the senior has tallied 35 wins and 25 losses in his career according to gowyo.com. He began his career being redshirted and wrestling unattached to the team for a year. In this time he would go 14-10 including a big pin of CSU Pueblo’s Eric Newton in just 48 seconds.
His redshirt freshman year was spent fighting through the struggles of a freshman in a year where he would ultimately finish one match below .500 at 8-9. However, Jenson saw significant improvement in his sophomore campaign finishing 17-10 according to gowyo.com.
Jace’s statistics took a hit as he struggled to stay in the starting line up a year ago as he would go 7-6, which included grabbing a silver medal at the Northern Colorado Open and starting in a dual against Cal Poly.
In a career with many highs and lows, Jensen recalls one memory that he says will stick with him forever,
“Starting against Oklahoma in the AA and wrestling against the number 1 ranked wrestler at that time, Andrew Howe,” Jensen said.
Jensen would get the first take down of the match placing him among a select few to have taken Howe to the mat that year.
“The atmosphere in the AA was awesome, and that match will stick with me my entire life.”
With many memories in the rear view, Jensen’s focus turns to a season that begins on Sunday right here in Laramie. This is a unique final season for Jace as his team will compete in the Big 12 conference for the first time in his career. What seems to be a step up in competition does not worry the senior.
“I am not too concerned about the change of competition. Coach Branch has been giving us some of the hardest competition on our schedule since I arrived here,” Jensen said.
Still the change will be not only in competition, but in stakes, as Jenson and the rest of the team eye a new prize.
“My goals are to lock up a starting spot in the lineup. I then want to become a Big 12 champ,” Jensen said.
He hopes to follow that up by becoming an All-American, but the first test comes this weekend at our very own Cowboy Open.
“I am way pumped and want to finish my last Cowboy experience on a positive note,” Jensen said.
Many of Jensen’s family and friends will be among the masses packed in the War Memorial Field House at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Being his last season, Jace must begin to look at life beyond the mat as he prepares for his future. Jenson has already graduated with a BA in history and has already begun applying for graduate school.
Jace has a long and prosperous future after UW. But this Sunday, there is only life on the mat.
