Kevin Czerwinski, Special to NorthJersey.com
GLEN ROCK – Jacob Slump’s journey to the middle of the mat last week for the awards ceremony at Hackensack High School was certainly brief, especially when compared to the seven other wrestlers with whom he was sharing the spotlight.
Slump took fifth place in the 195-pound class at the BCCA Holiday Wrestling Tournament, no small feat considering that the Glen Rock senior has only been wrestling for 13 months. While many of his competitors have been on the mat since early in grade school, Slump has spent the better part of the last decade away from organized sports.
He ran track for a bit and he loves to lift weights, which is one of the reasons he was in good enough shape to seamlessly blend in with many of the other long-time wrestlers in North Jersey. Now, just over a year after accepting an invitation from a friend to try his hand at wrestling, Slump has established himself as someone to watch as the regular season churns into January.
“I had a lot of friends who wrestled and I thought about it, but I never really made that step,” Slump, 18, said. “A lot of my friends on the team got me to do it. I’ve learned quite a bit. But it’s a lot of work in a sport I hadn’t been doing. But I was particularly strong, I worked hard and I figured it out.
“I learned how to wrestle through my friends and my coaches and because of that I was able to find success. I like it because it’s an individual thing. It comes down to you and the guy you are versing on the mat. It’s all about what you did to prepare for the match. It doesn’t come down to situations, but to you and the individual you are facing. I enjoy that factor where I can outwork anybody.”
Slump’s healthy work ethic certainly bears noting when discussing his success. He wrestled at 220 pounds last year and qualified for state regionals. He said he wanted to get “in shape” this fall, so he ran cross country and cut his weight.
He wasn’t avoiding anyone at any one weight class, he just wanted to be in the best shape possible. Glen Rock coach Corey Fitzpatrick noted that Slump was certified for the county tournament at 183.
“He’s a gym rat,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s very strong and he puts a lot of work in. That’s helped him in such a short career of wrestling. He’s a strong kid, he’s got good hips and he is hard to score on. Those are pretty good intangibles to have in an upper weight class.”
Slump has yet to decide what he wants to do with college. He is Dutch and is considering going to school in Europe. He’s also considering wrestling collegiately, whether he goes to school in America or abroad while he studies international business.
There is time for that later, though. Slump is focused on getting the most out of this season, hoping to achieve something that seemed impossible not to long ago.
“Reaching [the state finals] in Atlantic City would be incredible,” Slump said. “For the past 13 months all I have been doing is going to sleep and waking up thinking about wrestling. That’s why I wake up at 6:30 and run. That’s why I lift and what I have been dedicated to the past 13 months.”
And, if Slump can be an example for others along the way, that would only make the rest of his journey more fulfilling.
“A lot of kids don’t join a sport because they are worried about going against a kid who has been wrestling for so long,” Slump said. “But if you come at it with a commitment and a work ethic you will find success even if you are a new wrestler. It shouldn’t scare you because you are going against a kid who has been doing it much longer than a year.
“It makes me happy to be an example for other kids. If they were to ask, I’d tell them join and see how it is. See how you like it and how you succeed. If you dedicate the time and effort, you probably will.”
