Ben Murphy

Contributing Writer

 

Charlotte senior Jayden Schwartz certainly had to work for it, but he was able to get his storybook ending. Schwartz, wrestling in the Division 2 138 weight class championship match at Ford Field on Saturday, was able to win an 11-5 decision over Owen Segorski of Lowell, giving him the state title.
“It feels amazing,” Schwartz said. “I went in there wanting to win it, I didn’t get to finish it off last year and happened this time. It felt amazing.”
Schwartz could have been well on his way to a state championship as a junior as well, but an arm injury just before the post-season derailed his plans. Instead of chasing post-season titles, he started a long recovery from a torn UCL.
He put in the work during the off-season and was deemed healthy enough to return to the mat just weeks before the season.
“Once I hurt my arm, I couldn’t do anything,” Schwartz said. “Once my arm got better a couple weeks before wrestling season, I started getting in the weight room and practicing.”
Schwartz was able to finish with a 52-2 record this year, second most in program history for wins in a season. For his career, he had a record of 135-22.
“Jayden is a wonderful young man and a great wrestler,” his head coach Korey Knapp said. “I am so honored to have been in his corner for the last four years and watch him grow from an undersized 103-pound freshman into state champ 138-pound monster. His resume speaks for itself, and he should be remembered as one of the best to ever walk the halls of Charlotte High School.”
The championship moment didn’t seem possible in the early stages of his career.
“I didn’t make it out of districts my freshman year, I didn’t have a good year,” Schwartz said.
He went on to place seventh at the state tournament his sophomore year. Then after his injury-shortened junior year he entered the state tournament hoping to go out on top.
On Friday he had an 11-1 major decision win over Adoniah Delgado of Linden. In the quarterfinals he had a 13-3 major decision win over Liam Dailey of Greenville. The semi-finals were another major decision, this time 14-6 over Gage Race of Northwest.
In Saturday’s championship bout, it was scoreless through the first period. After the second period, Schwartz faced a 4-2 deficit. He dominated the final period though, leading to the moment he had been waiting for.
“Honestly, I was so happy for it, that has been my goal ever since my freshman year,” he said. “That was the best feeling, having my hand raised up there at the end. All the hard work paid off in that moment.”