Jackson Heasley’s pin completes comeback win for State College

Jackson Heasley knows wrestling is nothing like football.

“The mindset with football is if you mess up, you have another guy to assist you,” the senior said. “In wrestling, if you make a bad move or mess up, it’s you out there, so you can’t rely on somebody else to help you.”

To combat any solo nervousness, Heasley listens to his go-to song, Jason Aldean’s, “They Don’t Know.”

Heasley made sure Harrisburg knew who he was on the mat Thursday night during State College’s 42-36 win over the Cougars. Heasley rose to the occasion and capped the Little Lions’ comeback in the final match of the night, taking care of Nazir Morell in the 220-pound match.

Trailing 2-1, the State College wrestler nailed one of his signature blast doubles. He caught Morell going down and stuck him in 57 seconds.

“It was a pure football tackle, that’s his go to shot,” Little Lions’ coach Ryan Cummins said. “We’ve been working with him to try and catch a (half nelson) on the way down. He really picked up on that quickly. He can do that to a lot of people.”

Even though Cummins gave Heasley all the credit for his victory, Heasley said it’s his training partner in the room that has allowed him to excel on the mat.

“I have to give credit to Cole Urbas,” Heasley said. “He’s one of the best wrestlers in the nation at his weight class. I wrestle him every single day.”

Heasley and Urbas were part of seven State College wrestlers to record a pin in their bouts — the result of all the Little Lions’ wins.

Heasley’s pin might have been the biggest of the night for State College, but Ben Krick’s fall at 106 pounds was just as crucial. It might have been just the junior’s fifth victory of the year, but it was what the Little Lions needed after forfeiting at the starting weight of 285 pounds.

Krick trailed Fransico Esquadero 4-1 and then went for it. Krick took Esquadero to the mat, slowly worked him over to his back and earned the fall in 1:19. The Little Lions tied the dual up at 6-6.

“He works hard. When he really wants it, he goes after it,” Cummins said. “He can do that. He just has to realize he is capable of doing that more often.”

State College’s lightweight duo of Clayton Leidy and Owen Woolcott fed off Krick’s performance. Leidy took care of Delvis LaPorte in 1:19 at 113 pounds, Woolcott earned his pin of Allen Por in 3:34, and State College led 18-6.

Harrisburg won the next three bouts with a technical fall, forfeit and decision to hold a 26-18 lead at the break. The Cougars kept things rolling after the break winning the first bout with a major decision.

State College’s Ian Barr began the rally with a pin of Ediel Ramirez in 1:42 at 160 pounds. Lance Urbas, who was giving up nearly 18 pounds, pinned Isaiah Sawyers in 3:04 at 170 pounds, and the match was tied 30-30.

“He’s a stud kid for a freshman, going up like that,” Cummins said of Urbas. “He’s a tough kid and exactly what we need.”

After a Harrisburg fall at 182 pounds, Cole Urbas stepped up and pinned Bruce Lee Ramirez in 1:26 to again tie the dual. Then, Heasley hit the mat for his big win.

“We knew it would be close. They have a great team,” Cummins said of Harrisburg. “We were just lucky enough to pull it out there at the end.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 10:15 PM with the headline "Jackson Heasley’s pin completes comeback win for State College."