Ormond to wrestle for UW-La Crosse
Letter of intent signed during ceremony
By Casey Krautkramer
Stratford senior Jackson Ormond on Thursday signed his letter of intent to wrestle for one of the best Division 3 colleges in the country, UW-La Crosse, next winter. He will be joining his former Stratford teammate, Elijah Lucio, who was a freshman wrestling at 165 pounds for UW-La Crosse this season.
Coaches, family and teammates joined Ormond at the head table to witness him sign his college wrestling letter of intent. His extended family then joined him for a photo, followed by his Stratford football, wrestling and baseball teammates. He described what emotions he was feeling during Thursday’s college signing ceremony in the commons area just outside the Stratford High School gym.
“It is very special,” Ormond said. “A lot of people I know have gone to this college and I’ve only heard great things. It’s amazing and I am grateful for all the support I’ve had from everyone my whole life.”
Ormond took third place in 182-pound WIAA Division 3 state individual wrestling championships this season with a 46-2 match record. Last season, he placed fifth at state, while also competing at 182 pounds. He finished his junior season with a 41-10 match record.
Adam Davison, Stratford head wrestling coach, said it was interesting to witness Ormond’s development as a wrestler during his first three years coaching in Stratford.
“My first year coaching here was the COVID season in 2021 when Jackson was undefeated going into sectionals,” Davison said. “He wrestled terrible at sectionals and lost two matches, and afterward he admitted to me that he choked and didn’t wrestle like himself. He learned from this experi-ence at sectionals. Last season, Sam Schwabe was a senior from Random Lake who beat Jackson pretty handily the first time they wrestled each other, but the second time Jackson made that kid earn the win at the individual state championships. Jackson gave him one of his better matches at state, so Jackson’s ability to learn from his mistakes and get better all the time by constantly putting in the work is amazing.”
Schwabe won the 182-pound WIAA Division 3 state championship in 2022 and finished the season with a 51-2 match record. Schwabe was a freshman wrestler at UW-La Crosse this season so he and Ormond will now be college teammates.
Ormond began wrestling in second grade and said it’s always been a dream of his to compete in college athletics.
“I’ve always wanted to play a college sport and I realized wrestling is the best sport I can grow in,” he said. “It’s the best mindset sport for me and I feel that I’ll grow greater as a person if I continue to wrestle.”
Dave Malecek, while in his 17th season as the UW-La Crosse Eagles’ head coach, guided the squad to its seventh straight WIAC championship this season.
UW-La Crosse took fifth place at the NCAA Division 3 national championships in Roanoke, Va., and junior Nolan Hertel of Marshfield won the first 157-pound national championship in UW-La Crosse history.
Bebeto Yewah, UW-La Crosse assistant wrestling coach, is a former successful Eagles wrestler who will be inducted into the NCAA Division 3 Hall of Fame this year. Stratford wrestling alum Mason Kauffman had a successful college wrestling career at Division 2 Northern Illinois before serving as a UW-La Crosse graduate assistant wrestling coach this season.
Ormond will study at UW-La Crosse to earn a teaching degree so he can one day work as a mathematics teacher and possibly coach football, wrestling or baseball.
Joe Schwabe, Stratford assistant wrestling coach, said he’s seen several wonderful student athletes graduate from Stratford High School over the years but Ormond is near the top of the list.
“Jackson, you mean a lot to everyone here and thank you for what you’ve given back to Stratford schools,” he said.
Kane Krummel, Stratford assistant wrestling coach, said it’s amazing how Ormond has matured as a wrestler from his freshman to senior years in high school.
“He is an amazing young man who is always looking to improve himself by staying late after practice and helping the younger student athletes,” he said. “He is a great student leader.”
Davison described the key for Ormond to be a successful college wrestler.
“He needs to just trust himself and be willing to attack,” Davison said. “The biggest thing is that he just needs to trust that he can shoot and score, and he just needs to pick up the intensity and the aggression on his feet a little bit more. It doesn’t need to be the perfect shot every time. He is a good enough athlete who is big, strong and flexible who moves so well that when he goes for it he is hard to stop and he just needs to believe that and trust in that every day.”
