GUADALAJARA, Mexico — In his first competition since joining Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, Jake Herbert captured the 84kg/185-pound gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games on Sunday evening (Oct. 23) at the CODE II Gymnasium. It was Herbert’s first appearance at the prestigious quadrennial event.
Herbert defeated Cuba’s Humberto Arencibia in the finals, 1-0, 4-3. The first period went to the clinch with Arencibia getting Herbert’s leg. Officials gave Arencibia one point while Herbert defended, but the U.S. protested and it was upheld. They restarted the clinch and Herbert held on to score the point. In the second period, an early three-point move by Herbert was key to the victory.
“It was huge,” said Herbert. “I had to defend hard in the clinch to win the first period. It was great to be a little stronger, drive through him and force him on his back on the edge to a 3-0 lead in the second period.”
Herbert cruised through his preliminary competition, winning in two periods against Puerto Rico’s Jaime Espinal, 3-2, 2-0, and Venezuela’s Jose Diaz, 1-0, 2-1. He struck on a pair of early takedowns in the first period against Espinal, a member of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, and despite giving up two points on a late flurry, came out on top to preserve his advantage. The second period was all Herbert, who scored twice in the final minute on a single leg and a subsequent counter attack.
In a wild semifinals match, Herbert had to rally to take the second period from Diaz, who struck first on an early double leg and was then penalized a point for striking Herbert in the face. After two lengthy blood timeouts and with the score knotted at one apiece, Herbert took the final advantage off a late restart, scoring out of a brief flurry on the mat. He claimed the first period on a takedown in the closing 15 seconds of the frame.
Herbert’s next competition will be the New York Athletic Club Holiday International Open on Nov. 12 in New York, N.Y. Fellow CKWC athletes Jimmy Kennedy and Tyrel Todd will compete in the Sunkist Kids International this Sunday (Oct. 30) in Mesa, Ariz.
84 kg/185 lbs. – Jake Herbert, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC), 1st
First Round – def. Jaime Espinal (Puerto Rico), 3-2, 2-0
Semifinals – def. Jose Diaz (Venezuela), 1-0, 2-1
Final – def. Humberto Arencibia (Cuba), 1-0, 4-3
For all USA Wrestling video from the Pan American Games, visit TheMat.TV
