Jacob Davis' Sights Set On State -- Mt. Rainier Wrestler In Hunt For `Big Kill'

DES MOINES - For Mount Rainier wrestler Jacob Davis, nothing compares to the big kill. Stalk the prey, shoot and bag the trophy.

Davis, a junior 122-pounder, has done it hundreds of times on the wrestling mat, which he admits is a thrill. But nothing compared to his real passion: hunting. The wrestling ribbons and trophies pale in the shadow of his biggest prize, the head of the elk he shot during the 1992 season, mounted and hung on a living room wall. Five points on one side, three on the other.

Davis remembers the kill - and the emotion accompanying it - vividly.

"It's an adrenaline pump, it gets you going," he said.

Davis' wrestling career, which began when he was in first grade, has been going great guns. His regular-season record as a freshman and sophomore was 49-0. But both years ended with three straight losses.

His freshman year, Davis took a 22-0 record into the final match of the Seamount League tournament. He lost, then dropped two straight at regionals.

Last season, Davis emerged as one of only two Seamount wrestlers to win a regional title and was 25-0 heading into the Class AA state tournament at 115 pounds. There, he won his first two matches, then lost 7-2 in the semifinals to eventual-champion Pat Connors, a junior out of R.A. Long.

Davis could live with that - Long also won state titles as a freshman and sophomore. What irked him is that he then lost 4-2 to Tahoma's Ben Cruzat, whom he had beaten before, for the chance to wrestle for third and fourth. And then he lost 7-5 to Ferndale's James Summers, another wrestler he previously had beaten, to wind up sixth.

Set sights higher

Heading into last season, a sixth-place finish would have sounded good to Davis. But after getting to the tournament, he had set his sights higher and was especially unhappy to lose his final two matches to wrestlers he had beaten before.

"Leaving the tournament, I was disappointed with sixth place," Davis said. "I really thought I could take third or fourth."

This season, Davis is shooting for a spot in the state final.

"That will be a real, real tough accomplishment," he said, "but I feel if I wrestle my best I can do it, especially if I'm on the right side of the bracket."

That's important because Connors, also moving up from 115, is expected to be in the bracket, too.

Davis said he has improved all areas of his wrestling since last season, but especially his top control.

"Nobody has held me on the bottom past 20 seconds," he said.

`He knows where he is'

Davis carries a 14-1 record into tonight's double-dual with Lindbergh and Highline. His only loss came in the finals of the Skagit Valley Invitational, 3-2 to Burlington-Edison's Eric Smith, a loss he believes he can avenge later in the season.

Mount Rainier Coach Dick Thompson believes Davis can do just about anything he sets his mind to.

"He's so mentally tough," Thompson said. "He is really a competitor. He's got great balance. He knows where he is at all times. He's not one of the best technicians, he's just tough. He goes after you hard."

Just going for the kill.

---------------------------------------------------------------. Seamount League wrestlers to watch.

101 - None listed.

108 - Jim Mancino, so., Liberty ('93 state qualifer at 101).

115 - J.J. Perkins, sr., Evergreen. Davis Sherwin, sr., Mount Rainier.

122 - Jacob Davis, jr., Mount Rainier (6th at 115 in '93); Derek Rowe, sr., Liberty (sixth at 108 in '93); Ian Simpson, sr., Liberty (two-time state qualifer); Trevor Boers, sr., Mount Si; Robert Richey, jr., Mount Si; Jason Stratton, sr., Highline.

129 - Steve Baumgaergner, sr., Lindbergh.

135 - Jeremy McCrimmon, jr., Lindbergh; Marshall Nickols, sr., Highline; Emmitt Oldholm, jr., Renton.

141 - Alex Kamp, so., Mount Rainier; Kevin Blake, sr., Renton; Shawn Griffee, jr., Highline.

148 - Matt Loren, sr., Liberty ('93 state qualifer at 148); Darin Proszek, jr., Mount Rainier; Renny Ridgeway, sr., Renton.

158 - None listed.

168 - Royce Repenn, sr., Hazen (3rd at 168 in '93, 2nd at 158 in '92); Stuart Ayling, sr., Hazen ('93 state qualifier at 168).

178 - Alan Rigtrup, jr., Lindbergh; Keth Crotty, sr., Kennedy ('93 state qualifier at 178).

190 - Joe Schaefer, sr., Hazen; Will King, sr., Tyee.

Hvy - John Holloway, sr., Lindbergh; Wade Traphagan, jr., Mount Rainier; Mike Tickert, jr., Kennedy; Mike Baker, Tyee.