By Mike Moguin

Sapulpa freshman athlete Jack Lucas has great ambitions as he embarks on his high school wrestling journey this year. 

When he wears blue and silver for the Chieftain, he carries the mindset “knowing that one day I’ll represent them on a bigger stage,” he said. 

Now that’s confidence. Could that mean becoming a four-time state champion by the time Lucas is a senior? Wrestling, a sport unique in its own right, can give you a boost of confidence when you’ve won lots of matches. But hard work must be done to back it up, which requires “discipline, grit, hard work, patience, confidence, and being humble,” said Lucas, who also plays baseball for Sapulpa. Those elements of the sport have been instrumental in teaching him to be a better person, he said.

There are two different styles in the sport, freestyle and folkstyle. The latter is done in Oklahoma High School Wrestling and throughout the nation, but Lucas prefers freestyle, which most wrestlers participate in through camps and tournaments during the spring and summer. 

When it comes to college wrestling, Lucas is a fan of “Oklahoma State University! Go Pokes!’” Lucas said. 

Individually, he likes a four-time NCAA champion from Cornell as his favorite.

“Yianni Diakomohalis inspires me because of his wrestling style, his suaveness, his mindset, and he was one of the best to do it,” Lucas said. Diakomohalis won his final national title in 2023.

Payson Robinson is his teammate, who drives him. 

“I’ve known him since I started wrestling at 4 years old, and seeing him now is pretty cool,” Lucas said.

However, there are those moments when you can’t take the sport too seriously. The best advice Lucas said he ever heard was “Let it fly, it’s just a wrestling match.”

The most memorable moment for Lucas, however, is not on the mat, but “Giving my life to Christ,” he said.

When not wrestling, Lucas spends time watching YouTube, serving as a leader in his youth group at church, playing with his dogs, cooking, reading his Bible, and hanging out with friends. His favorite teacher ever is Mrs. Armstrong, who he had for Algebra last year as an eighth grader. “She made learning everything so easy,” Lucas said.

He gives a shoutout to his parents.

“Thanks, Dad, for getting me in this sport and all you’ve done for my career, and my mom for paying for all my food and driving me to practice and tournaments, and for always being in my corner,” Lucas said.

Follow Lucas on Instagram @jackl1220