42 // VARSITY March 6, 2014
I
saac Jordan took a seat in the lobby of the
Wisconsin wrestling office just to the right of a
framed singlet on the wall honoring the legacy
of NCAA champions. He had no trouble reading his
dad's handwriting. Jim Jordan, who won titles in
1985 and 1986, signed the singlet in his son's pres-
ence.
"I started wrestling when I
was five years old; I just kind
of knew I was going to do it for
my whole life," said Isaac Jor-
dan, a redshirt freshman from
Urbana, Ohio. Father knew
best, too. "He always says win
or lose, I'm always proud of
you. It kind of takes away some of the pressure."
You can imagine how proud Jim Jordan felt after
Isaac was recognized as the Big Ten Wrestler of the
Week and USA Wrestling's National Athlete of the
Week for his back-to-back dual meet victories last
weekend over the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked wrestlers
in his 157-pound weight class.
In beating Nebraska's James Green and Iowa's
Derek St. John, by 3-1 scores, Jordan served notice
that he has to be taken seriously as a title contender
not only in the Big Ten meet, which will take place
Saturday and Sunday at the Kohl Center, but at the
NCAAs in Oklahoma City (March 20-22).
It's all in concert with what Jordan learned at
home. "Find a goal and work
towards it," he said.
Jim Jordan, 50, a United
States congressman, will be
among the award present-
ers at the conference meet in
Madison in what reads like a
Who's Who of Badgers wres-
tling ― headed by Lee Kemp,
a three-time Big Ten champion, three-time NCAA
champion and three-time world champion.
The alumni gathering ― well over 100 wrestlers
― will include former Badgers head coaches Duane
Kleven (1970-82), Russ Hellickson (1982-86) and
Andy Rein (1987-93), who was also an NCAA champ
and Olympic silver medalist. Matt Demaray and Jim
Jordan will represent the two-time champions.
"I STARTED WRESTLING WHEN
I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD; I JUST
KIND OF KNEW I WAS GOING TO
DO IT FOR MY WHOLE LIFE,"
JORDAN SAID.
