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Oak Harbor senior wrestler Jake Cramer has been a beast on the mat this season, notching 36 wins and pinning 22 opponents for coach George Bergman’s Rockets.
But what may surprise some people who don't know Cramer very well is that he's an avid, perhaps even obsessive, outdoorsman.
“He loves to hunt geese and duck, and he loves to fish,” Bergman said. “He'll leave practice and go out hunting for six hours. He goes with his brother and some friends. His dad got them into hunting and fishing and they love it. They could do it every day of the year.”
Asked if he'd rather pin an opponent or spend the day hunting, Cramer hedges just a little.
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Oak Harbor wrestler Jake Cramer
(Photo by Dave Witt) |
“If it's a big match — if we're talking state semifinals and I pin someone — that would be hard to pass up over hunting,” he said. “But, it's pretty close.”
Jim Cramer got his boys involved in hunting at a young age, and the outdoor activity has stuck with a vengeance.
“I go hunting with my buddies from Port Clinton a lot,” Jake said. “My buddies got me into waterfowl hunting. I got myself a duck boat for hunting and a trailer and field decoys for field hunting. I've got a pretty good name around here for hunting. I'm on the birds; I know where to go find them. I enjoy being out with friends, and you get a good adrenaline rush. It's a good time and it keeps you out of trouble.”
Cramer certainly has been a straight shooter for Oak Harbor's wrestling team. He started his career as a 103-pound freshman and bumped up to 125 as a sophomore. Cramer placed fifth at 140 at last year's Division II state meet, and he is 36-4 this season at 171/189 pounds.
Cramer takes a 136-28 career record (74 pins) into Saturday's D-II district meet at Marion Harding.
“He loves to compete,” Bergman said. “On match day he gives everything he's got. He's not afraid to throw everything he's got, and whatever he does well technique-wise, he doesn't save it. He's strong and he's always enjoyed the weight room. One reason he's done well is his strength has increased along with his weight class.”
Cramer, who has primarily wrestled at 189 this season, is finishing his Oak Harbor career with a bang. He won his weight class to help the Rockets claim their fifth straight Sandusky Bay Conference championship, and he's also won titles at the Perrysburg Invitational Tournament, the Medina Invitational and the Oak Harbor Invite. He went 1-2 at the rugged Ironman tournament.
Two of Cramer's four losses have come against Nick McCall of Wauseon. McCall decisioned Cramer by a 7-4 margin at 171 pounds at last Saturday's sectional tournament, and he beat Cramer at 189 at the State Duals.
Cramer is the projected 171-pound state champion in the Brakeman Report, while McCall is rated No. 4. Cramer's loss last weekend was his lone loss of the season at 171.
“I was pretty pissed,” he said. “Since then I've been working on training a lot more, getting my conditioning better. I've been working with my coach, Paul Bergman, on what I need to do to beat him. It's given me a lot more motivation to work harder.”
Cramer said getting Brakeman's nod as the favorite to win a state title means little.
“My coach always says that (rating) will get you a cup of coffee and a dime,” Cramer said. “You have to go out there and prove it. It gives you a little bit more confidence, but you can't let it stick in your head.”
George Bergman offered that losing to McCall for a second time last Saturday might do Cramer some good. Cramer and McCall are likely to meet in the district finals.
“That's what great about running into McCall last week,” the coach said. “That (Brakeman rating) gets solved real quick. We call it a paper champion, where you're rated this or ranked that, but you have to prove it on the mat. He's working right now on some different techniques that will give him a better shot of winning. All of our kids have wrestled the best kids in the state and they know there's no hiding.”
Cramer has big plans after high school. He earned his charter boat captain's license last fall and he intends to enlist in the Coast Guard Academy. After that, the contiguous United States will be in his rear-view mirror.
“I have a lot of colleges right now offering me scholarships,” Cramer said, “but I'd rather go right into the Coast Guard and start life out and get started. Me and my buddy, Travis, are going to do the buddy system when we enlist and we're going to go together up into Alaska. I want to be stationed in Alaska - go up there and see the world.
“It's beautiful up there and I can't pass it up.”
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Oak Harbor wrestler Jake Cramer caught up in a dual. (Press photo by Lee Welch/FamilyPhotoGroup.com)
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Oak Harbor wrestler Jake Cramer. (Photo by Dave Witt)
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Oak Harbor wrestler Jake Cramer in control. (Photo by Dave Witt)
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