TERRE HAUTE —
Back in the day, Jed Cox’s father and older brother were considered good wrestlers around Sullivan County.
Troy Cox, his father, qualified for the regional and brother Justin got to the semistate.
A good wrestler himself, Jed Cox hopes to go where no family member has gone before — the IHSAA state finals in Indianapolis.
But first things first.
Competing in the 145-pound weight class, the younger Cox improved his season record to 31-1 after defeating Bloomington South’s Jordan Castillo on a 15-3 major decision in the sectional championship match Saturday at Northview.
“We made no mistakes,” Sullivan coach Roy Monroe said of Cox’s effort that day. “Jed was on his game 100 percent.”
Cox now advances to the Bloomington South Regional this Saturday. The top four in each weight class will move on to the Evansville Semistate on Feb. 11.
“I really think I have a good chance of making the [regional] championship round,” Cox told the Tribune-Star. “There’s a guy from Columbus East who’s pretty good. I plan to see him in the championship match.”
Cox said he celebrated his first sectional title Saturday night by eating a pizza at a Sullivan restaurant, which forced him to watch his diet closely this week so he won’t exceed his weight limit.
But discipline is not one of Cox’s weaknesses. Monroe, who’s been involved with the Sullivan program either as head coach or an assistant since 1994, described Cox as “one of the best” wrestlers that the school has ever had.
“He’s a very focused wrestler,” Monroe emphasized. “He listens to his instructions on the mat. He’s very strong and willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to be successful.”
Monroe said Cox’s natural weight is 152, so dropping a few pounds for a meet is nothing new to him.
Monroe has known Cox since he was born, having wrestled on the same Sullivan team with his father in the early 1980s. Jed Cox started wrestling competitively while in the first grade, although he admits that unoffficial playground matches got him in trouble more than once in grade school.
Cox grew up loving the sport and that led him to where he is today.
A four-year varsity wrestler for the Golden Arrows, Cox finished fourth in the sectional as a sophomore and finished third in the sectional and third in the regional as a junior to qualify for the semistate, although he ended up not going because of an illness.
Now he’s aiming for the ultimate stage in Indiana high school wrestling.
“I’ve really stepped up this year,” Cox pointed out. “This past summer, we went to a camp in Ohio and we learned a lot about techniques.”
Last off-season, he said he worked harder than ever on the mat, in the weightroom and out jogging to improve as a wrestler.
“It is nothing for Jed to run 17 miles a day during the off-season,” Monroe mentioned.
“I’ve been doing a lot of praying too,” Cox added. “I had help [from above] along the way.”
Cox’s only loss this season was a 7-5 overtime decision to South Vermillion standout Alex Thomas in the Greencastle Holiday Tournament a few days before Christmas. “Me and him have been going at it for quite a few years now,” Cox said.
The only way he and Thomas could meet again in 2012 would be if they make the state finals in two weeks, which is the goal of both wrestlers.
“He’s legitimate,” Monroe said of Cox. “I expect to see him standing on the state-finals podium [symbolizing a top-eight finish].”
Sports
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Sullivan's Jedidiah Cox (top) works on Bloomington South's Jordan Castillo during their 145-pound match Saturday at the Northview sectional in Brazil. Cox won the match 15-3.
Discussion
Sullivan's Cox eyeing wrestling state finals
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