Red Cloud Wrestling Update

John Jung '13, wrestling phenom. Photo by Sierra Concha '13. Copyright Red Cloud Indian School.

Red Cloud Wrestling Update

By David LaDeaux '13

This year wrestling Coach Clay Leonard is starting his wrestling season in a good way,  thanks to the foreign exchange student from South Korea, Jinyup Jung aka John. John recently placed first in the Red Cloud Invite and first in the Hot Springs JV Invite, second in the Mullen, Nebraska Invite, and third in both the LNI wrestling tournament and the Custer Invite. John told me that he has placed within 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at every match he has had in his senior season.

I had a early morning interview with Coach Clay where he told me that John was 20-28 last year and he is 27-9 this year, a MAJOR improvement. He also told me that this was his 25th year as wrestling coach and that in 2008 he had three of his varsity wrestlers qualify for state. He also said he has two female wrestlers on the team this year, senior Amanda Standing Bear and freshman Miranda O’Donnell. Some of his other returners are juniors Scott Two Bulls and Morgan Starr and sophomores Mitchell Stands and Josh Twiss. The newcomers are senior Wanbli Hamilton and junior Dennis Martinez. 

 John Jung told me he was wrestling at 184 but now that he's been working out and eating on a diet he’s gained 11 pounds and now wrestles at 195. “I'm doing good so far, better than I did last year. I actually improved a lot," John  said. "In most of the wrestling meets this year I placed within the first three places.” He also told me that in the Red Cloud Invite he won by five pins and won one match by points. That day he took first place at the Invite and defeated some of the tougher returners from last year. He told me that wrestling is interesting to him because he's a foreign exchange student and that it's a good experience for him to do what he loves on the mat.